Louisiana Purchase, Westward Expansion, and the Industrial Revolution

The Louisiana Purchase and Indigenous Peoples

The vast westward territory known as the Louisiana Purchase was home to a large number of indigenous peoples, along with Spanish and French inhabitants. Immigration by white Americans into this territory increased dramatically following the purchase in 1803, driven largely by the ideology known as "Manifest Destiny." By far, American settlers constituted the largest group, but many French-speaking refugees — including whites, freed blacks, and slaves — also migrated to the territory. As a result of this ethnic diversity, the culture of the Louisiana Territory became highly mixed, and its boundaries were not clearly defined.

At the time of the Louisiana Purchase, the U.S. government quickly recognized that a sense of stability had to be established within the territory. This was accomplished in two distinct ways. First, the cultural question was addressed through the creation of a governmental body and judicial system based on American political ideals, which would replace the existing French and Spanish systems. Congress then established a legislative council for the entire territory, and President Thomas Jefferson insisted it be composed of a majority of American citizens. Second, President Jefferson devised and initiated the Lewis and Clark Expedition, which was to fully explore the territory bounded by the Mississippi River to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west.

Governance and Resistance in the Louisiana Territory

As a result of the Lewis and Clark Expedition and the U.S. government's efforts to introduce new policies and systems, a great majority of Louisiana residents — mostly Spanish and French — became deeply upset at the prospect of their existing systems being dismantled. President Jefferson's views on this situation were, to say the least, quite predictable. Stephen Oates notes that Jefferson was certain that most of the population was American Indian and African American, and that "from the start of the debate [Jefferson] thought only whites could govern the territory." This situation was further complicated by the U.S. government's decision to displace a large number of Indian Nations from the Southeast and old Northwest into other portions of the territory, effectively placing these groups in entirely foreign environments and setting into motion the turmoil that would follow in later years. This displacement also disrupted traditional cultural systems and forced native peoples to unite in defense of the common elements of their heritage.

On March 26, 1804, the U.S. Congress created the ruling government for the Louisiana Purchase territory. President Jefferson expressed his concerns by stating his wish to have American laws instituted in the territory through a body of American leaders who would control the new government and enact specific legislation. Yet the indigenous residents of the territory saw this as a failure on the President's part, due largely to the embargo placed on the admission of slaves into the new territory and Congress's decision to fully restrict the creation of laws and statutes by local peoples.

The Early Industrial Revolution in Pre-Civil War America

The consequences of the Industrial Revolution on pre-Civil War America were both widespread and highly influential. In the 1820s and 1830s, the United States became the global leader in mechanical and mass production as manufacturers adopted labor-saving techniques that allowed workers to produce more goods at much lower costs. The most important inventor of this era was Eli Whitney, the originator of the cotton gin, which allowed cotton production to soar to new heights. Whitney was also greatly responsible for advancing production techniques for muskets through machines that allowed musket parts to be made interchangeable.

Other American industries quickly adopted Whitney's manufacturing techniques. As early as 1800, clockmakers began to use interchangeable parts, while makers of sewing machines employed mass production techniques as early as 1846. This led to the mass production of many other mechanical devices, especially those designed for farming, such as reapers and automatic balers.