Thomas Jefferson And The American West

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 question arises of why Thomas Jefferson commenced the great expedition of Lewis and Clark. “ Jefferson wanted to form an expedition that were able to gather valuable information about Western Indians while living at peace with them” (Ronda 1). This was important because the people that were going to move into the Louisiana territory had to make sure they had peace with the Native American. If people take away the Native’s food source, or destroy the materials they make a living out of, is going to cause conflict between the two. “The expedition was fashioned to explore the vast wilderness of what is now North Western United States. It was sponsored by the United States government and was led by U.S. army officers

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-

Somehow, at the point when the chance to buy the Louisiana Purchase introduced itself, Jefferson couldn't leave the offer behind. The Louisiana purchase had many pros and cons. Things like Economy, resources, money, change , expansion and land were few of the many advantages and disadvantages. The purchase had helped and benefited the United States tremendously. Creating this land deal meant better was soon to come; especially for Thomas Jefferson by which this was one of his most important achievements during his

This purchase was worth $15 million in 1803. The land stretched from places such as the Mississippi River, Rocky Mountains, and the Gulf of Mexico. This was one of the United States first steps in expanding the country and exploring the unknown. Jefferson sent Meriwether Lewis and and William Clark to complete this task. The expedition, known as the Corps of Discovery, helped America gain valuable information. Some of this information regarded the geography, American Indian tribes and discoveries of new animal and plant life. Jefferson chose to buy the Louisiana purchase because he thought that Napoleon might withdraw the offer which would not allow the U.S. to buy New Orleans. By purchasing the town of New Orleans and surrounding territory, that created more secure trading routes for the

But he would need an exploration of the west. So Jefferson hired a acquaintance of his secretary a U.S army member Meriwether Lewis to do this; who later hired William Clark to be a co captain of the trip. After the trip they gathered maps of the land, climate observations, food vegetation in the area, and Indians and other people.After learning of the Louisiana Purchase it was Pike’s dream too set off on such an adventure. Pike covered 5,000 miles in 9 months gathering information on Spanish territories and army locations, British activity going against the John Jay treaty, and finally Indian treaties like the Friendship

President Thomas Jefferson knew very little about the territory acquired with the Louisiana Purchase. He wondered if one of the rivers in the newly acquired territory flowed westward to the Pacific Ocean. He chose two men to explore this new territory. One was Meriwether Lewis, his secretary and the other was William Clark, an army officer.

In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson purchased the territory of Louisiana from the French government also known as the Louisiana Purchase. The Louisiana Purchase stretched from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains and from Canada to New Orleans, and it doubled the size of the United States. Jefferson thought westward expansion was the key to the nation’s health. In order to provide enough land to the yeoman (farmers), the United States had to continue to expand. Jefferson believed that western expansion would fill up the empty lands with immigrants and provide enough lands for the farmers, so he decided to support the western expansion.

Before Thomas Jefferson ever entered the presidency, he believed in the “Empire of Liberty.” He wrote in a letter to a friend that “Our confederacy must be viewed as the nest from which all America, North or South, is to be peopled.” His motives for the intense eye on American expansion were greatness for his country, as well as for himself. He was disgusted with the idea of North America being divided into nation-states like Europe. His goal was for the ideals of the American Revolution to spread over the whole continent. He passed and helped pass some of the legislation that helped early America expand. He co-authored the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, which allowed for states to be made from the territory east of the Mississippi and

In 1803, one of Jefferson’s major achievements during his first term with the American West, was the Louisiana Purchase; land between the Mississippi river and the Rocky Mountains. Intentionally, Jefferson wanted Napoleon Bonaparte to sell the city of New Orleans; instead, he was offered all of Louisiana for $15 million dollars. With such an offer, Jefferson soon confronted problems about the purchase.

The “Indian Problem” was really the Indians themselves, because of the newly purchased western land Americans wanted expansion but Indians occupied a large mass of the area where expansion would take place. Jefferson was not going to let that go to waste, so he gave Indians an ultimatum, either become part of the white man’s society; converting their religion and becoming farmers, or they could migrate to the west of the Mississippi and that would become their new home. Most tribes didn’t want to relocate but because the Indian tribes are scattered and aren’t as powerful as the Americans they either were threatened, bribed, or tricked into giving up their land and signing it away to the Americans. The Indians have always thought of the British

Jefferson's views of westward expansion and Native Americans were that of trying to rid the Indians of their old ways, and to get the Indians to exchange land to the US. Jefferson wanted the Indians to stop using the lands to hunt, and to develop the Indians lifestyle towards an more agricultural way of life. This action would negate the Indians need to use forests for food(hunting). Jefferson believed that a change in lifestyle will make the Indians less entitled to owning the land.

- The secret messages tells us that Jefferson viewed that the expansion in the west and the Natives is that he wants to build it in a way that can help the Americans and the Native Americans. Jefferson wanted to expand the area but in a good way so that it was not about money. Because at first they were fine with selling there but then they saw what was being done to it and they wanted it back. In Jeffersons secret message he asked Congress for $2,500 to explore the West all the way to the Pacific Ocean. At the time the territory did not belong to the United States, therefore Congress agreed to fund the expedition that would be led by Lewis and Clark.