James Wilkinson

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/james-wilkinson

1. When was James Wilkinson born?
2. Where was James Wilkinson born?
3. What is the governorship?
4. What is the war of 1812?
5. What did James Wilkinson do in the American Revolutionary War?
6. Why was James Wilkinson chosen to be the first governor of the Louisiana Territory?

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. When was James Wilkinson born?March 24, 1757
2. Where was James Wilkinson born?Prince George's County, Maryland
3. What is the governorship?First governor of the Louisiana Territory from 1804 to 1812
4. What is the war of 1812?Commanded two unsuccessful military invasion campaigns in the St. Lawrence River valley
5. What did James Wilkinson do in the American Revolutionary War?He served as a soldier in the Continental Army during the war.
6. Why was James Wilkinson chosen to be the first governor of the Louisiana Territory?President Thomas Jefferson appointed him to set up government and manage the new land after the Louisiana Purchase.

Continental Army: The unified military force of the thirteen American colonies during the Revolutionary War.
Louisiana Purchase: A landmark 1803 land deal where the United States acquired approximately 828,000 square miles of territory from France.
Louisiana Territory: The administrative region established by the United States government following the Louisiana Purchase, organized between 1804 and 1812.
Envoy Diplomat: A person sent as a representative of their government to negotiate with another country.