HOW DID MERRYWEATHER LEWIS DIE? Did Governor Lewis commit suicide or was he murdered? At the age of 30, Merryweather Lewis had become a national hero after his western expedition. He spent about four years in the wilderness of the Louisiana territory that President Thomas Jefferson had purchased. The President purchased from France for 15 million dollars in order to improve America’s trade and commerce. However, the Congress believed that the president did not have the power to purchase land and that the purchase added up to the increasing national debt. To prove to the Congress that the land was not a “worthless dessert”, President Jefferson assigned his friend Lewis and Clark to explore the western land. After Lewis returned from the expedition, Thomas Jefferson appointed him as the Governor of the upper Louisiana territory. On the year of 1809 Lewis wants to go to Washington to complete the publication of his journals and work his problems with the war department after having difficulty with his new …show more content…
Danisi believes that Lewis was affected by malaria. Most people living in the Mississippi river valley during the 19th century contracted malaria, which was spread by mosquitoes. Once caught, malaria can appear periodically. The behavior of malaria patients also resembled the behavior of Lewis. In severe cases of malaria, patients experience unbearable pain in certain parts of their body. To try to relieve themselves of the pain the patients will try to inflict harm to the body part that is in pain. This also explains why Lewis shot himself in his chest and the back of his head. Lewis must have had experienced the unbearable pain in his chest and the back of the head. To get rid of the pain he must have shot himself in that area. It is also mentioned that Lewis cut himself with a razor. We can come to the conclusion that Lewis had tried to kill himself and shot himself twice due to the pain inflicted from severe