We will give you $15 million dollars for your land!
Yes! We are in desperate need of money!
Lewis and Clark
Beautiful deer and berries!
This s a great beauty!
Zebulon Pike
Thomas Jefferson wanted to expand the US. In this time Great Britain and the French had been fighting wars. The French were in desperate need of money. So we gave them $15,000,000 for their land to expand the US.
Stephen H. Long
Lewis and Clark went to explore the new land they had just bought. They explored for 8,000 miles, and 123 of those miles were of Kansas. They described it and said " Great beauty...variety of game...deer seemed plentiful...abundance of wild raspberries."
Jackson's Speech
Why do we have these savages all over our country!
Then after Lewis and Clark explored Kansas, Zebulon Pike went and described it like an African desert with vast plains. He also wondered if the land could be cultivated.
Indian Removal Act
Stephan Long visits Kansas and traveled by steam boat. He also described it as a desert, and on maps it became "The Great American Desert."
Andrew jackson made his speech about why he doesn't want thousands of "savages" roaming and staying in the US. He wanted to build cities and towns instead. Then force them to what is now Kansas.
People agreed with Jackson's speech. They thought Americans couldn't survive, and farm in what is now Kansas. So they forced all of the Indians to Kansas, and it was difficult for the tribes.