Do you live in the West? If you do, chances are this land would not be as populated as it is now if it wasn’t for the courageous journey of Lewis and Clark. Lewis and Clark, two courageous explorers, opened the door for westward expansion by leading an important expedition to the Pacific Ocean despite facing hostile indians, exhaustion, and freezing winters. Shortly after the Louisiana purchase in 1803, Thomas Jefferson commissioned Lewis and Clark to embark on a journey to explore the newly acquired land. Thomas Jefferson also commanded them to study the area’s plants, animals, geography, and establish trade with the Native American Tribes. As main author of the website, Lewis and Clark, Drake Allen wrote that on May 14, 1804 the caravan of approximately 45 men left St. Louis headed up the river. As time passed, twelve men headed back home to bring back samples of animals and plants to Thomas Jefferson. The twelve men would also report how the expedition was carrying out. Shortly into the trip, Lewis and his crew began to encounter conflicts that would greatly lower the moral of the journey. Roughly five months into the trip, the caravan of boats crossed into Teton Sioux land and the indians quickly …show more content…
Subsequently, after they finished their journey, a surge of settlers embarked on their own journey to find a new life in the West. Without the exploration of this land, this trail might have never have had such an enormous effect on our history. Additionally, it allowed the cultures of the Native Americans and United State settlers to meet and get to know each other's ways and customs. It also led an example for the following wave of new white explorers to discover the many new geographic areas, plants, and animals. Without the expedition to the Pacific Ocean, our country might have never experienced the berserk gold rush which brought many new