The Lewis And Clark Expedition

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 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.

The Lewis and Clark expedition was amongst one of the first major American expeditions. This expedition helped the United States advance in science, land as well as gaining many valuable resources. The Lewis and Clark expedition is also an amazing American story. Lewis and Clark went through extraordinary situations to expedite Americas growth and science. They accomplished this expedition with strenuous encounters with the Native Americans.The importance of the Lewis and Clark expedition is derived by the challenges they faced, the encounters they had with Western Indians, and the knowledge gained about the Louisiana territory.

This report is on Lewis and Clark's adventure through the United States. On May 14,1803 William Clark and nearly four dozen other men met up with Meriwether Lewis on May 20. The Lewis and Clark

In 1804 I was asked by Thomas Jefferson to go to our newly purchase the Louisiana territory. I left in 1804 with Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to find a northwest passage and tell the Native Americans that we own the newly purchased Louisiana territory. Lewis, Clark, and I also found many new plants and animal life. After we discovered that there was not a northwest passage we started going back home. This expedition was very long it took us 2 years and 4 months.

Captain Meriwether Lewis and William Clark put their lives on the line only to return with information regarding the Pacific Northwest of the United States territory. Their reasons behind this journey, being to expand the United States to the West, involved the entire nation but debatably, their accomplishments and the reaction of others became a major part of today’s history.

The expedition of Lewis and Clark began on May 21,1804. Meriwether Lewis was born on August 18, 1774 in Albemarle County, Virginia. Lewis met Clark in 1795 in the army. Lewis was asked to be Thomas Jefferson’s private secretary in 1801. Clark was born on August 1, 1770 near Caroline County, Virginia. Clark first entered the military at age 19 and served in the militia. Lewis asked Clark for help on the exploration and made him co-captain. With purchasing land from France called the Louisiana Purchase in April 1803, Jefferson wanted to find a water route that linked Columbia and the Missouri river, connected Pacific Ocean with the Missouri river system, and gave Western land access to port out of Mexico to the East. President also wanted to know what the land he recently bought was like. Lewis and Clark’s expedition immediately got easier with the help of Toussaint Charbonneau and his wife, Sacagawea on November 4, 1804. Sacagawea and her husband helped the exploration run more smoothly without the chance of misunderstanding with the Native American tribes. When Lewis and Clark returned to president Jefferson, they were treated as national heroes. They received gifts such as double pay. The men on the expedition

On May 14, 1804 in the eastern city of Saint Louis, William Clark and Merry-weather Lewis set of on the westward adventure that would change America as we know it today. Their journey began on the Mississippi River, those rapids would propel Lewis and Clark into the "Corps of Discovery". Across the vast land that these men would soon travel lived the many native-american tribes. The Native people hunted freely across their western lands, lived their life as one with the ground they so carefully treaded on. Soon, the great American adventurers and the native people would meet, but one brought with them the foreshadowing of a new era. An era when American life would be greatly improved with new natural resources and plentiful free land, but only at the cost of ruining the native american people of their way of life. The Lewis and Clark Expedition expanded the knowledge and lifestyle of America but began the elimination of the original American natives way of life and culture.

Many people in America know of the historical expedition of Lewis and Clark, but only a few know of the expedition to California led by Jedediah Smith. This expedition took place after Thomas Jefferson signed the papers to acquire a huge region in the west through the Louisiana Purchase. After this expansion many people were eager to explore the west and among those was Jedediah Smith. From his childhood, Smith dreamed one day of exploring the unknown west part of the United States. He once said, "I wanted to be the first to view a country on which the eyes of a white man had never gazed and to follow the course of rivers that run through a new land." In 1824, Jedediah Smith began formulating his famous California expedition that

On February 28, 1803, President Thomas Jefferson, with the approval of congress, created the Corps of Discovery. Their mission was to map the newly acquired western lands of the Louisianna Purchase, almost 1803—828,000 square miles of unexplored territory, as well as find a route to the Pacific Ocean. This expedition was led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. During their adventure, the group encountered many hostile Native American groups, and if not for Sacagawea, these tribes would have surely jeopardized their operation. Due to her role as a helpful guide, Sacagawea was crucial in the encounter between the Corps of Discovery and the Native Americans because she negotiated and traded between the groups, functioned as a peace token, and served as an interpreter.

America doubled in size in 1803 when President Thomas Jefferson bought the Louisiana Territory from France for 15 million dollars. Jefferson wanted to discover this land and hoped to find a water route that would link the pacific ocean with the mississippi river. Jefferson decided to enlist the help of his personal secretary and soldier, Meriwether Lewis. Lewis knew he couldn’t go on this journey alone and he knew just the man to join him on the journey. William Clark was a draftsman who possessed knowledge of the outdoors. Among Lewis and Clark, young american soldiers and french canadian river men were hand picked to tag along with them on their journey. York, Clark’s personal slave and companion since childhood, tagged along. Another person

Either way, Lewis was the man for the job. He had skill as a gentleman, politician and military officer as well as skill with the sciences and all the knowledge of Indians as could be found. With his friend William Clark as his equal for the journey, they spent the fall and winter in preparation. Jefferson had given Lewis a “blank check” with the understanding that he should buy what he needed and the U.S. government would pay the bill, despite the fact that only $2500 had originally been approved by congress before the formal purchase of the Louisiana Territory. (Jefferson)

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.

At the time when Thomas Jefferson was president, the U. S. had bought new land in France. He had Meriwether Lewis to lead an expedition to the New Lands who turned to Wiliam Clark to be the Co-commanding captain which turned into the Lewis and Clark expedition.

The Lewis and Clark expedition was led by William Clark and Meriwether lewis (Thus the name of the expedition).Under Thomas Jefferson the expedition kicked off. It began on May 14, 1804 and came to a conclusion on September 26, 1806. The objective of the expedition was to reach the northwest and other regions beyond. Lewis kept a journal describing all his findings and surveillances. The expedition became very difficult and resources became scarce as the expedition carried on. Without knowledge of their surroundings they often found themselves lost without a clue of their whereabouts. On their long grueling journey they met two shoshone indians, Toussaint Charbonneau and his wife Sacagawea. From there on they expedition began to run much more