Louisiana Purchase

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/louisiana-purchase

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. How big is Louisiana Purchase?Approximately 828,000 square miles (2,140,000 km2)
2. What is the year of acquisition?1803
3. What is the seller nation?French First Republic
4. Why did President Thomas Jefferson want to buy the Louisiana territory?He wanted to keep the port of New Orleans open and make sure the Mississippi River could be used freely for trade and for people moving west.
5. How did France decide to sell the Louisiana territory to the United States?Napoleon sold it because he could not keep it after fighting in Haiti and feared Britain might take it, so the money helped his European wars.

Geopolitical: Relating to politics, especially international relations, as influenced by geographical factors.
Retrocession: The act of ceding territory back to its former owner.
Preemptive Right: The exclusive right to acquire something before others can.
Haitian Revolution: A successful slave revolt that led to the independent nation of Haiti.