Expanding a Nation: Causes and Effects of the Louisiana Purchase

by Elizabeth Raum

Overview

Should the United States stay a small country or expand across the continent of North America? That was the question in 1804, when the United States had a chance to buy the huge Louisiana Territory from France. Who would make this big decision? And how would it change the United States?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781476534022
Publisher:	Capstone
Publication date:	01/07/2013
Series:	Cause and Effect
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	1,095,769
Product dimensions:	7.40(w) x 8.60(h) x 0.20(d)
Lexile:	770L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 11 Years

About the Author

Elizabeth Raum has written over two-dozen nonfiction books for young readers, including a biography of Louis Armstrong for Capstone Press. Over the years, she has worked as a middle school and high school English teacher, an elementary school librarian, and a college library director. Elizabeth Raum has written many nonfiction books for children. Two of her Capstone You Choose books, Orphan Trains: An Interactive History Adventure (2011) and Can You Survive Storm Chasing? (2012), are Junior Library Guild selections. Elizabeth lives in Michigan with her husband, Richard.

Table of Contents

A big purchase — What caused the Louisiana purchase? — Buying Louisiana — What effects did the Louisiana purchase have?

Editorial Reviews

11/01/2013
Gr 4–6—These well-organized, clearly written books share a format with an introduction followed by a chapter that describes the causes of the topic in numbered sections. The next chapter provides details about the event or movement, and a final chapter discusses its effects on American history for the nation as a whole and for specific ethnic and social groups, again in numbered sections. Designed to align with the Common Core standards, this format works well, allowing authors to provide background and context and explain cause and effect in a way that students will easily understand. Books are objective, staying within mainstream historical opinion and offering numerous points of view, including those of political, regional, and ethnic groups such as Native Americans. Large color illustrations and maps and occasional sidebars supplement the texts. Terms are defined on the pages on which they are first used. A "Common Core" quiz at the end of each book prompts students to use critical-thinking and writing skills to analyze the text. Although these topics have wide extant coverage and these books don't introduce new material, their main strength is in the clarity of the logical format, a more textbooklike format that is becoming more common in sets such as Lerner's "Six Questions of American History." These books are effective introductions that will improve student understanding and research skills, making them a good choice for early middle level readers.—Mary Mueller, Rolla Public Schools, MO

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