The Louisiana Purchase

US History – America on the World Stage, 1800-48

In this course, Professor Brian Rouleau (Texas A&M University) explains how and why American foreign policy developed and expanded over the period 1800-48. We start by looking at the Louisiana Purchase and how the US was able to purchase this vast area for itself. We will then turn to look at the War of 1812 in which America fought Britain with disastrous consequences. After this, we'll turn to examine the Monroe Doctrine of 1823 and its consequences for US foreign policy. In the penultimate module, we will explore US expansion into the West and Indian Removal. And finally, we will explore the further expansion of 1830s and the Texas Revolution.

The Louisiana Purchase

In this module, we examine the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. We will explore a number of aspects of this including: (i) how the US was able to purchase this vast territory; (ii) why the US wanted to purchase this territory; and (iii) the consequences for the US of the purchase.