Extend Your Learning
Historical Interpretations
For President Thomas Jefferson, the Louisiana Purchase provided an opportunity to extend American democracy from sea to sea. In his book, Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West, author Stephen Ambrose presents Jefferson's vision and an adventurous narrative of Lewis's journey of discovery.
You can read about this book and see a transcript of an interview with Ambrose on the Online NewsHour. Go to Undaunted Courage: June 20, 1996 Transcript.
Dr. Horace Huntley, University of Alabama - Birmingham and the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, reflects on the subject of the Louisiana Purchase from another perspective:
"Because of the continuing expansion of the nation [through] white settlement in the western territories, Native Americans found themselves in danger of loss of land, loss of livelihood, and even loss of life. The underpinning of Congress had been a death and destruction that has rarely been adequately presented. If shown from the perspective of Native or African Americans, the glamour of growth and progress for white America turns into death and enslavement.
The Louisiana Purchase opened up new land for white settlement. This new settlement displaced Native Americans from their ancestral homelands, opened up much of the land for the growth of cotton, and created a continuing demand for black enslaved workers. Native Americans were decimated by physical attack, disease, and brutal removal. African Americans suffered from the continued tyranny of enslavement and dehumanization.
This has been the price for the development of the land of the free and the home of the brave."
Present Your Historical Interpretation
What were the benefits and costs of the purchase from the perspective of Native Americans, African Americans, and Americans of European descent? Teachers of history, informed citizens, and students will likely have strong opinions, one way or the other. Reflect on the perspectives provided by Ambrose and Huntley and consider evidence you have encountered in the readings. Do further research on the cultural, economic, and political impact of the purchase if needed, then form a reasoned argument in which you weigh the significance of the issues the historians raise, bringing historical evidence to bear.
Present and discuss your argument with your colleagues or record it in your journal. Use the following questions to guide you:
- What happens when we look at the Louisiana Purchase (or other historical topics) from the perspective of the victors or from that of displaced people?
- How does the perspective influence our view of events or our interpretation of their meaning?
- As a teacher, to what extent do you "teach" your interpretation and opinion, or instruct students to act as historians, find evidence, and develop their own educated interpretations and understanding of events?
- Go back to the questions you posed in the previous activity (Further Content Exploration) -- would you add any questions now or rephrase them to open students to additional viewpoints?