The Louisiana Purchase
Grades 7–9
Over the course of three lessons, the students will explore events that led to the United States’ purchase of the Louisiana Purchase territory from France in 1803. Students will analyze key letters from US officials regarding the negotiations for the purchase of New Orleans that ultimately resulted in a much larger purchase, doubling the land in the United States. Students also will examine and evaluate maps of the area to understand the impact of the Purchase.
Related Stories
Marie Grissot, the Midwife Who Battled Bienville
In 18th-century Louisiana, bringing new life into the world was difficult and dangerous. So why did Bienville slash the salary of the colony’s only midwife?
Moncacht-Apé and His Quest for Native History
Long before Lewis and Clark explored North America, one Indigenous wayfarer crossed the continent—twice—in search of his people’s roots.
Related Collection Highlights
Robert R. Livingston’s Louisiana Purchase Letter
The coded midnight letter that foreshadowed the largest land transfer in US history
Ursuline Music Manuscript
This nearly-300-year-old songbook is the oldest known music manuscript in Louisiana history.
Fortier Embroidery Sampler
A 200-year-old piece of needlework by a young student at the Ursuline Convent sheds light on the lives of Catholic Creole girls in early 19th-century Louisiana.
Related Books
A Company Man: The Remarkable French-Atlantic Voyage of a Clerk for the Company of the Indies
edited and with an introduction by Erin M. Greenwald
translated by Teri F. Chalmers
Charting Louisiana: Five Hundred Years of Maps
edited by Alfred E. Lemmon, John T. Magill, and Jason Wiese; consulting editor, John R. Hébert
New Orleans, the Founding Era
edited by / édité par Erin M. Greenwald
translated by / traduit par Henry Colomer
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