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Why Did Meriwether Lewis Die Essay

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1 / 3 How did Meriwether Lewis Die?

Meriwether Lewis was a confidant of Thomas Jefferson, who was the 3rd President of the United States. When Jefferson bought Louisiana from Bonaparte, the federal government thought that the land purchased was a “worthless desert.” To prove them wrong, Jefferson commissioned Lewis and Clark’s Mission of Discovery. The expedition went on for 2 years with 3 goals in mind. When Lewis and Clark came back from the expedition, Jefferson put Lewis as the governor of upper Louisiana. Lewis also informed Jefferson of the expedition, and attempted to publish his book. Coming back into Louisiana as the governor, he dealt with financial issues. In D.C., it was rumored that he was embezzling money from Louisiana. …show more content…

That exhibit is called Neeley's Lie. James Neeley was an Indian agent who was a secretary to Lewis. When Lewis, Neeley, Pernier, and others were on their way to D.C. to clear up misunderstandings, a couple of horses ran off. According to Neeley's letter to former president Thomas Jefferson, it said "...We lost two of our horses. I remained behind to hunt them and the governor proceeded on, with a promise to wait for me at the first house that was inhabited by white people." But, according to exhibit #4, it states that Neeley was supposed to be in court in Tenessee, and not with Lewis. This implies that Neeley could be a part of the murder. This could also mean that Lewis' murder could be a set up. And if Neely lied about this very important thing, what else could he be lying about? In the theories packet, it said "According to Chandler, Lewis discovered certain secrets about General James Wilkinson, his predecessor as Governor of Upper Louisiana. If revealed, these 'blow the whistle,' The only way to kill the scandal was to kill Lewis before he could talk." This implies that Wilkinson and Jefferson didn’t want their reputation to be ruined, and therefore wanted Lewis dead. This lessens the possibility that Lewis committed

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