The Nation Grows
c9s2 Marissa G. & Vicky L.

For a long time, the East had become very overcrowded and very over settled. As a result, many people moved west to get away from the crowds and to find a better life. But they could only go as far as the Mississippi River, as that is where the United States ended.

  In the year of 1803, the United States Government purchased the Louisiana Territory for an estimated price of 15 million dollars from France . Earlier, the area was owned by Spain, who then signed a treaty with France, giving the land to them. It’s a good thing that we bought Louisiana from France. Otherwise, our country’s growth would be limited and we would not be able to grow into a greater nation. Also, they could have cut us off from the Mississippi, which we need to profit from trade, food, and travel.

  The next year, President Jefferson sent William Clark and Meriwether Lewis to chart some of the new territory. These brave men spent two years exploring the Northwest with the help of Indian Princess Sacagawea and York, a slave.

Since 1803, the American population has increased in the west. As a result of this, the Western people were gaining much of the political and economic power. Because of this, American government leaders were paying more attention to the ideas and goals of the Western Territory . As more Americans moved frontier, they needed the manufactured goods of the East, so the west quickly became a market for the goods of the East. As more

people settled, the area became a farming center. Soon, a strong trade was set up between the East and the West. It was this trade that caused the desire for more land to settle and farms to grow. It also made the West economically important.

A New England group known as the Essex Junto devised a plan to build a Northern Confederacy, breaking away from the United States . They did this because they were scared that the number of voters over in the west would outnumber those in the East. However, some of the leaders of the East, especially Alexander Hamilton of New York , worked to defeat the plan. The Northern Confederacy plan was abolished and New England stayed with the Union .

About the authors:
Marisa G. and Vicky L.
are Itasca District #10 TEAM 7 students in Mr. Peel’s 7^th Grade Social Studies Class.

America and World Affairs

c9s3 Meghan R. & Taylor Z.

During the late 1700’s, a lot of American’s attitudes toward France changed. Americans had been sympathetic to democratic ideas in the French Revolution. Napoleon’s rising power in the early 1800’s turned Americans against France . Napoleon’s effort to build a large empire in Europe was responsible.

Also in the1800’s, many Americans called for war against Great Britain . However, Jefferson did not believe that America was prepared for war. Their navy ship, the Chesapeake , was fired on by the British ship called the Leopard. The Chesapeake-Leopard incident  brought the U.S. and Britain to the edge of war.

President Jefferson decided to act against Britain and France . He placed an embargo over all American trade. The Embargo Act of 1807 hurt America way more

than it did Britain or France . When the embargo halted overseas trade, many Americans suffered from the loss of jobs and money. The acted failed to make ether France or Britain agree to honor American trade rights. Jefferson finally asked congress to remove the Embargo Act in 1809. 

James Madison became president in 1809. He intended to follow Jefferson wishes, except many Americans were convinced that the countries economic problems were largely due to Britain ’s blockade of Europe . A group in Congress was very powerful and called the War Hawks. Henry Clay and John Calhoun led it; those men kept pressuring the president to go to war. President Madison finally called Congress to declare war against Great Britain .

During the War of 1812, British soldiers burned Washington D.C, many Americans suffered

from the tragic attack. In the early 1815’s the last battle of the war was fought at New Orleans , and was won by American Andrew Jackson. On Christmas Eve of 1814, a treaty had been signed but messages traveled slowly in the 1800’s and word of the treaty didn’t get out till after the Battle of New Orleans.

After everything ended, the United States did not become involved in European wars for almost 100 years. This made our country stronger. 

New England hoped to build stronger ties with Britain ; this was because New England wanted to start trade with them. The Embargo Act ruined this trade. During the postwar years, this helped to bring a new sprit of freedom in the country. Another big problem was slavery; because of this a new movement to free blacks began to gain power in America again.

About the authors: Meghan R. & Taylor Z.  are Itasca District #10 TEAM7 students in Mr. Peel’s 7^th Grade Social Studies Class. Meghan's favorite hobbies are swimming and soccer! Favorite TV show is The O.C. Taylor has been dancing since she was two-years-old, plays the piano, and loves playing sports and hanging out with friends.