USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -After the Louisiana Purchase Treaty was made, Jefferson initiated an exploration of the newly purchased land and the territory beyond the “great rock mountains” in the West. He chose Meriwether Lewis to lead an expedition, who in turn solicited the help of William Clark.

Detailed explanation-2: -Europeans did not start settling the land now called “ Louisiana “ until the 1700s. The earliest known explorers, Alonso Alverez de Piñeda in 1519 and Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca in 1528, possibly crossed present-day Louisiana or floated by Louisiana ‘s coastline.

Detailed explanation-3: -The Lewis and Clark Expedition began in 1804, when President Thomas Jefferson tasked Meriwether Lewis with exploring the lands west of the Mississippi River that comprised the Louisiana Purchase.

Detailed explanation-4: -However, when they were offered the entire territory of Louisiana – an area larger than Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Portugal combined – the American negotiators swiftly agreed to a price of $15 million.