The Lewis and Clark expedition is arguably the most courageous and adventurous exploration effort ever made in American history. The Lewis and Clark took place after the Louisiana Purchase as an effort to find a northwest passage, map the newly purchased land, make scientific discoveries in the area, and to establish contact with the natives and set up a strong trade network with them. Through efforts of Thomas Jefferson, Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, Sacagawea, and many others, the United states was radically changed through the exploration of these new uncharted areas. The Lewis and Clark exploration would not have been possible without Thomas Jefferson's monumental purchase of the Louisiana Territory. Due to the United States westward …show more content…
When Jefferson bought the land it was a very quick and rash decision and he was not sure what was in the land he had bought. There was lots of crazy theories and rumors of what people would find in the new land. These included things such as Woolly mammoths, Peruvian llamas, and blue-eyed Welsh-speaking Indians. In order to explore this new land Jefferson commenced an exploration team. It would consist of a team of men who would venture out into the wilderness in hopes of accomplishing many goals. Goals would include finding a northwest passage as well as just exploring and mapping out the new territory. To lead the expedition he chose Meriwether Lewis who then choose William Clark as the co-commander for the …show more content…
Thomas Jefferson had acquired $2,500 from congress to pay for the trip as well as supplies. The expedition team would be called ‘The Corps of Discovery’. To prepare for the voyage, Lewis purchased many supplies including, food, guns and ammunition, knives, medicine, clothes, items to trade with the indians, as well as navigational instruments such as compasses. Lewis also had a boat built capable of carrying 12 tons of cargo. As leader of the Corps of Discovery, Lewis and Clark wanted the best crew they could find. They needed brave men with a variety of skills such as hunting, cooking, translating, negotiating, etcetera. They also needed to be strong as the team would be traveling upstream for a majority of the trip and would need to row the boat and supplies all that way. Eventually 48 members were chosen for the adventure. The majority of these men were in the military or came from military background. Each man was exclusively picked by Lewis and Clark. The team spent the winter of 1803-1804 training at Camp Dubois in the Illinois Territory. They needed to be ready for anything the voyage might throw at them. On May 14, 1804, the team rowed upriver to St. Charles to meet up with Lewis where they would begin their
Lewis and Clark Expedition In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson handed over a small price of $15,000,000 for the Louisiana Territory, originally owned by France. After the treaty for the purchase was made, Jefferson issued an exploration of this new land. Jefferson ordered that his personal secretary, Meriwether Lewis, an intelligent and skilled man, be the leader of the expedition. As his personal assistant, Lewis selected the help of William Clark.
(59). Living with Jefferson the two learn of the British explorer Alexander Mackenzie’s trip to the pacific by land across Canada. Later that year Jefferson would send an expedition of his own, Meriwether Lewis being the head of it. Lewis recruits a personal friend, William Clark, to be second on the team known as the Corps of Discovery.
It is September of 1806, we finally got back from the two year and four months expedition, it began on May of 1804. This expedition is a fact finding mission, the expedition began in St. Louis traveled to Pacific Ocean and back to St. Louis. I don’t know how we made it through these years I am so happy I went through this expedition with Meriwether Lewis, Sacagawea, William Clark, and more. We were commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson the third president of the United States of America. Lewis and Clark expedition was commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson.
Thomas Jefferson, the American President wanted to explore and discover the hidden treasures in the large Western parts of America that were inhabited by the local Indian tribes for centuries. Jefferson then hired his personal secretary, Meriwether Lewis to undertake the expedition, find new routes and discover the eco system in the region. He also wanted them to build better ties with the local tribes that would help foster trade. The expedition of Lewis and Clark faced many challenges, interacted with many new Native peoples and was an important milestone in American history. Lewis and Clark had many, many challenges.
With many people in mind to select, Jefferson appointed his former secretary Meriwether Lewis due to his conglomerate amount of skills. With Lewis in place, he chose William Clark because of his abilities as a draftsman and frontiersman. Lewis and Clark’s exploration of
Lewis and Clark “began the American invasion of the west,” (). They fulfilled “many of Jefferson’s wishes for the expedition,” (). Along the journey, Clark “drew a series of maps that were remarkably detailed, noting and naming rivers and creeks, writing down the spots where they camped and writing down new discoveries they made,” (). Lewis and Clark's’ adventure was successful in many ways because they
The expedition explored the different landforms, plant, animals, and people that were living in the west. The made new discoveries about the uncharted west. The team also encountered with the region and people living there. Thomas Jefferson’s primary objective was to know about the people and culture that lived in the vast land beyond the Mississippi River. They met people were willing to help while some of them were violent and killed several members of the expedition.
In preparation for the trip Lewis and Albert Gallatin, who was Thoams Jefferson's secretary of Treasury, collected the most recent maps and printed accounts representing and outlining the unknown country of the west. They also collected information about the land from the native people. The information collected was vital to the start of their expedition.
Search for Discovery and Civilization e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e “Amazing the things you find when you bother to search for them”, said Sacagawea, a Native American who helped Lewis and Clark on their journey of the Louisiana Purchase. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark were asked by the President at the time, Thomas Jefferson, to take an expedition to find a route across the continent. Lewis and Clark went on with the expedition down the Mississippi River with a few helpers. They were given many goals from Thomas Jefferson, such as finding a water route to the Pacific Ocean, studying plants and animals on the way, and to find and make peace with Native Americans.
Lewis chose a good friend of his, William Clark, to help out and decided Clark should be the commander of the journey. Their expedition began in May, 1804 near St. Louis, Missouri. They went through many hardships such as harsh weather, illnesses, rough waters, starvation, and injuries. Throughout their expedition, Lewis kept a journal and collected samples of plants and animals he came across. They finally reached the Pacific Ocean in November, 1805, and spent that winter in Oregon.
For the next year he spent time doing research on all the things that would be involved in the expedition. During this time, he decided how many men he would need, how big of a boat and with what design, what medicines, and also what instruments and books were necessary. Lewis did not just decide what to bring, but he took this time to learn many of the skills that he would need to use over the course of the journey. After a year, he had learned about botany, medicine, mathematics and fossils, as well as how to use all the scientific instruments that would be taken. Lewis was extremely meticulous in preparing for his more than two year voyage and this is partly why Jefferson chose him.
The Corps of Discovery was the expedition of Lewis and Clark exploring the new land that was bought from the Louisiana purchase. Lewis and Clark went on this expedition to make contact with the Native Americans who lived there and to a waterway between the Mississippi and the pacific ocean. Lewis and Clark were two explorers who were chosen by Thomas Jefferson to go on an exploration into the western territory they just bought from Napoleon Bonaparte. While they were exploring they came across the Shoshone tribe and met Sacajawea, who had her baby with her at the time and became their guide. Then they worked their way to the pacific ocean.
President Thomas Jefferson commissioned the Corps of Discovery to have the Lewis and Clark expedition find a waterway that could connect the United States for transportation because he had aspirations to expand to the Pacific and Northwest making the expedition important to his agenda for the United States. (The Corp of Discovery, 2016). Another reason for the important expedition was to create a relationship with the American Indians, and the American fur trade, while learning the North American topography and geography of the land which was also important to the exploration (Corps of Discover, 2016). Thomas Jefferson was important to the Lewis and Clark expedition because he organized the journey, sought funding and made Lewis and Clark head
Finally, Charles Floyd; a Kentucky resident who kept a detailed journal about the land quality on the voyage. This group of recruits played vital parts as cogs of the machine that helped further the quest for
“Lewis and Clark traveled over 8,000 miles in less than 2 1/2 years, losing only one member of their party, at a total cost to the taxpayer of $40,000 (NPS, 2021).” Lewis and Clark’s team mapped uncharted land, rivers, and mountains. “They brought back journals filled with details about Native American tribes and scientific notes about plants and animals they’d never seen before. They also brought back stories—tales that made other Americans dream about heading west (National Geographics for kids, N.D).” They set up camp in Fort Mandan, near modern day Bismarck and made many relationships with the nearby tribes.