Lewis And Clark : The United States

In 1801, Thomas Jefferson was elected our third president. Thomas was president of thirteen of the original states. In May of 1805 Thomas sent Louis and Clark on their famous expedition we know of today as the Corps of Discovery. Louis, Clark and his crew journeyed for 2 years. They came back September 23, 1806. Before Thomas made a big change in the 19th century the Mississippi river separated the eastern territory from the northern territory which was owned by the French. In the Next few paragraphs it’s going to explain three reasons why the Louisiana purchase was one of the greatest turning points in the 19th century, those reasons are it doubled the size of our nation, gave the U.S. more room to industrialize, and made exploring the unknown

In 1800 Thomas Jefferson was elected president. With the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, Jefferson had the vision of the United States growing from sea to sea. However, it was unknown what was out there. Jefferson planned an exploratory expedition and called upon Meriwether Lewis to lead it. Jefferson was very interested in what was in the west lands. Much was involved in the carrying out of this expedition; the preparations for this trip, what happened during their long journey west, and the return home. This expedition was very important in the development of the United States.

The exploration of Lewis and Clark into the Louisiana Purchase had a great impact on the United States. During the exploration, they encountered Native American tribes, who exchanged items with them, and new species of plants and animals.

The Lewis and Clark expedition was a truth that was to become the crowning accomplishment in the lifetime of the brilliant thinker, inventor, and founding father, Thomas Jefferson . It has become a profounding turning point throughout America’s history. Investigating the recently obtained Louisiana Territory, which nearly doubled the size of the country, arranged Jefferson the opportunity to widen the boundaries of the United States to include both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The threat of the unknown lay ahead for Lewis and Clark’s team. The explorers had no idea what they would e be confronted with on their journey, but still they advanced into the unknown area that could officially be called part of America. Thanks to the addition of Lewis, Clark, their essential guide Sacajawea, and the many men that traveled with them America was able to expose land as well as providing important information about the topography, the biological studies, the ecology, and the studies of the American Indian as they discovered the mysteries of the Louisiana Purchase. Although it was a treacherous and costly journey, the Lewis and Clark expedition was the most important exploration in American history.

Exploration has always been a central theme in the development of the United States. The Louisiana Purchase, in 1803, made the government more eager to expand west. The newly acquired lands were in need of exploration. A team needed to be established to survey and document the new territory. The Lewis and Clark expedition would answer the unknown questions of the west. The expedition would not have been successful without the leadership, determination, discipline of the Corps of Discovery, and the cooperation of the Native Americans. President Jefferson wanted the leader to have the same passion and intensity toward the discovery of the west as he possessed. Jefferson hand-

The year of 1803 significantly changed our nation eternally. It stunned many people. In no way, shape or form, did we ever believe that our nation would expand so rapidly. What started with the small purchase of New Orleans led into the substantial purchase of the Louisiana Territory. This was a purchase that will make Thomas Jefferson a man to be remembered. Although, he wasn’t the only man who impacted the United States during this time period. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark are the two men that are greatly known for their expedition across the Louisiana Territory. These two subjects, the Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis and Clark Expedition, altered our nation immeasurably.

The Louisiana Purchase nearly doubled the size of the United States in 1803. Jefferson decided to buy the land because he wanted to increase the United States’s territory towards the Pacific ocean and to avoid a war with the French. Due to the purchase, Jefferson sent Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to explore the new unfamiliar land with three goals. The goals were to makes maps of the newly bought territory and find a river passage to the Pacific ocean, make peace with the Native American, and to record and send back discoveries of new plant and animal life that lived within the Louisiana Territory. These were the goals that Lewis and Clark had to achieve.

After the War of 1812, the United States started to expand westward, also known as the Westward Expansion. In April of 1803, the United States purchased Louisiana from the French. The United States bought this land from the French for fifteen million dollars. All the land gained from the Louisiana Purchased doubled the size of the country. Before citizens could begin to move West, Thomas Jefferson sent two men, Louis and Clark, on an expedition. Louis and Clark were sent to explore the new land and to map a route to the Pacific Ocean. Thomas Jefferson asked the men to keep careful records of this land and to bring back important information about the geography and the people, which they successfully did.

The Louisiana Purchase affected the boundaries of the U.S. because when Jefferson bought the land, the boundaries were not clear. Spain claimed the border was about one hundred miles west of the Mississippi River, while Jefferson was under the impression that it was around eight hundred miles further west, which was defined by the crest of the Rocky Mountains. This lead to four different government-funded expeditions. The first was in 1804 when Lewis and Clark led an expedition westward to determine the upper reaches of the Missouri River. Throughout the expedition Lewis and Clark were instructed to study the Indian culture, such as plants and animals. They were able to explore the Indian culture when they stayed their first winter in huts beside the Mandan Indians. Without the help from the Indians they would not have survived the winter. They also had to draw out the geography of the West. After the treacherous journey, they reached the Pacific Ocean on November 7, 1805. They made their journey back to St. Louis and arrived back in September 1806. The other three expeditions that took place between 1804 and 1806 were to determine the southwestern border. The first group went down the Red River to the Ouachita River, ending in current-day Arkansas. The second group went west into eastern Texas along the Red River and the third group ended up going too far into the Spaniard’s Territory, which caused them to get arrested and then released soon after.

The Louisiana purchase was a purchase that the United States bought from France. The United States bought land from France. The United States purchased the Louisiana territory from France on July 4th of 1803. According to, Monticello.org “The Louisiana Purchase of 1803 was a land deal made between the United States and France. The United States received 827,000 square miles of land in the west of the Mississippi River for 15 million dollars” (Monticello.org). Also, the same year the United States purchased Louisiana territory from France the President Thomas Jefferson sends Meriwether Lewis and William Clark with other recruits to explore the Louisiana territory. Lewis and Clark also had a very long journey because their journey lasted for

In January,1803, even before the U.S. bought Louisiana, Jefferson convinced Congress to spend $2,500 on a western expedition. Jefferson chose army captain Meriwether Lewis to lead the exploration. Lewis chose William Clark, also and army officer, as his co leader. The men were ordered to report back on the geography, plants, and animals.

Lewis and Clark faced many things by going into the frontier land of Louisiana. Some of them were bears, disease from mosquitoes, pesky flies, strong currents, etc.This exploration arranged by Thomas Jefferson was, rather important but dangerous. Lewis and Clark’s expedition was probably the most important thing that Americans did during Jefferson's presidency. They found many Indian tribes, this was very dangerous, mostly because you don’t know if the tribes are friendly or not.

The history of America has been present by many explorers who discovered this massive land. All of the early explorers had a significant impact of American development. Two explorers, Lewis and Clark, are high on the list of significant explorers. The Lewis and Clark Expedition, which was also the Corps of Discovery, significantly impacted the economic, political, and social effects on the United States. Their immediate goal was to map the western side of American and set expansion.

Jefferson then gave Lewis another job which was to lead an expedition into the lands of the great Mississippi.

Imagine standing and staring at giant Mountains that were touching clouds, reaching for the sun.And thinking