Louisiana Purchase: A Constitutional Dilemma

Target: I can explain the constitutional conflict Thomas Jefferson faced regarding the Louisiana Purchase by analyzing a primary source letter and a map.

Key Vocabulary

• Louisiana Purchase: The 1803 acquisition of a huge territory in North America by the United States from France.

• Strict Interpretation: Believing that the federal government only has the powers explicitly listed in the Constitution.

• Constitution: The supreme law of the United States; the official rulebook for the government.

• Ratify: To formally approve or pass something, making it officially valid.

• Implied Powers: Powers that are not explicitly stated in the Constitution but are suggested or implied by it.

• "Necessary and Proper": A clause in the Constitution that gives Congress the power to make laws it deems necessary to carry out its other duties.

Part 1: Do Now (5 minutes) Directions: Read the prompt below and write a 4-5 sentence response on the lines provided. Prompt: Is it ever okay for a leader to bend or break the rules for the "greater good" of the people they lead? Why or why not? Give one example (real life).

Part 2: Analyzing the Sources

Directions: Read the letter from Thomas Jefferson (Document 1) and analyze the map (Document 2). Then, answer the questions that follow.

Document 1: Thomas Jefferson's Letter to John Breckinridge, 1803

Original Text

Simplified Meaning

"The constitution has made no provision for our holding foreign territory, still less for incorporating foreign nations into our Union. The executive in seizing the fugitive occurrence which so much advances the general interest, have done an act beyond the constitution. The legislature... must ratify and pay for it, and throw themselves on their country for doing for them unauthorized what we know they would have done for themselves had they been in a situation to do it."

"The Constitution does not give us the power to buy foreign land or add new nations to our country. By making this deal, I have done something that is not allowed by the Constitution. Congress must approve and pay for this deal. We are counting on the American people to forgive us for doing something unauthorized, because we believe it's what they would have wanted."

Document 2: Map of the Louisiana Purchase, 1803

Think-Ink-Pair-Share

Directions: Answer questions 1-3 on your own.

Then, work with a partner to answer question 4.

1. According to Jefferson's letter, what is the constitutional problem with the Louisiana Purchase?

   
   

   Sentence Starter: Jefferson states that the constitutional problem is…

2. Look at the map. Why did Jefferson believe the Louisiana Purchase was for the "greater good" of the United States?

   
   

   Sentence Starter: The map shows that the purchase was for the "greater good" because it…

3. How does Jefferson justify his decision to "bend the rules" of the Constitution?

   
   

   Sentence Starter: Jefferson justifies his actions by arguing that...

4. (Work with your partner) How did Thomas Jefferson reconcile his belief in a strict interpretation of the Constitution with his decision to buy the Louisiana Territory?

   
   

   Use evidence from both the letter and the map.

   
   

   Sentence Starter: Although Jefferson believed in a strict interpretation, he decided to purchase Louisiana because... For example, the map shows... and in his letter, he admits...

Part 3: Exit Ticket (5 minutes) Prompt: Did the Louisiana Purchase strengthen or weaken the U.S. Constitution? Explain your answer.