ipl-logo

The Lewis And Clark Adventure That Changed Our World Summary

2562 Words11 Pages

According to Elin Woodger and Brandon Toropov in their reference book, The Encyclopedia of the Lewis & Clark Expedition, New Orleans was a highly desired port for trading. New Orleans was part of this vast territory known as the Louisiana Territory that was under French rule. American traders had been denied permission to use this port for trade. That, along with the fear of a “French army arriving on the American mainland” (Woodger & Toropov), gave Jefferson reason to consider purchasing this land from France. Jefferson sent two representatives, James Monroe and Robert Livingston, to negotiate with France about this issue: The instructions given to Monroe and Livingston were that they should offer up to $10 million to buy New Orleans and …show more content…

According to the Reader’s Digest book Great Adventures That Changed Our World: The World’s Greatest Explorers Their Triumphs and Tragedies, Jefferson asked Congress for $2,500 to provide everything necessary for this expedition to take place. Jefferson asked his private secretary, Meriwether Lewis, to be the leader of the expedition. Jefferson believed Lewis was qualified to be such a leader because he had “courage, prudence, habits and health adapted to the woods, and some familiarity with the Indian character” (Thomas Jefferson, qtd. in Reader’s Digest 213). Lewis took on the responsibility of organizing and preparing for the voyage (Reader’s Digest, 213). Along with preparing the necessary items and food and other important commodities, Lewis asked William Clark, his former commanding officer in the army, to help him lead the expedition. Lewis said to his future co-captain and old friend, “my friend I can assure you that no man lives with whom I would prefer to undertake and share the difficulties of such a trip than yourself” (Reader’s Digest, 213-214). The President gave Lewis specific and direct instructions of what he wanted them to accomplish. Jefferson’s first purpose was for Lewis to follow the Missouri River, and explore it, in order to see if there was an efficient stream of water to the west coast for commerce. Along with this, Jefferson also instructed Lewis to record maps of the land, analyze the soil to see it’s potential for providing crops, record the climate, and also to learn about the Indians (Readers Digest,

Show More
Related
414 Words | 2 Pages

Thomas Jefferson’s Instructions to Meriwether Lewis discussed the appointment of Lewis as commander of the expedition, gave specific details of the purpose of the exploration, and provided directions for Lewis to follow when carrying out the trip. Thomas Jefferson carefully selected his personal secretary, Meriwether Lewis, to be the commander of the Expedition and trusted that he would be able to perform the tasks assigned to him. Jefferson requested that an abundant amount of precise notes be taken and that they be protected at all costs. He was interested in learning about the people occupying the land, their culture, the ecosystems, and the land. In addition to note taking, treating the Native Americans with respect and peace was important

Read More
888 Words | 4 Pages

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

Read More
169 Words | 1 Pages

Jefferson decided to try and buy New Orleans. Why did he want to buy it? He wanted to be sure that American farmers would always be able to ship their goods through the port. Jefferson sent Robert Livingston and James Monroe to buy New Orleans and to buy West Florida from Napoleon. The president said they could offer as much as $10 million.

Read More
1156 Words | 5 Pages

Kimberly Nguyen October 2017 Swanson 9:30 US History Unit 2 First Draft In 1803, Thomas Jefferson purchased the Louisiana Territory, a land deal between the United States and France. “The U.S. acquired approximately 827,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River for $15 million.” Jefferson sent James Monroe along with Robert Livingston to Paris to negotiate. Jefferson gave them a mandate to negotiate up to $10 million for purchase of New Orleans and all or part of the Floridas.

Read More
281 Words | 2 Pages

Prior to the Purchase of the Louisiana Territory, Thomas Jefferson was desired to explore the area to see if there was an all-water route to the Pacific Ocean and claim that land for the United States. The main goals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition was to map the region, collect information on new species, and to establish contact with the Native groups and make peace with them. In document 1, the map reveals that one goal of Lewis and Clark’s expedition was to find a waterway from the US to the Pacific Ocean. They did not find this route, but they did successfully navigate the Missouri River.

Read More
84 Words | 1 Pages

In 1803, Thomas Jefferson wrote a document to France to purchase western land, also known a the Louisiana Purchase. Jefferson was given the land from France, and wanted to study the new purchased territory. He sent out his personal secretary, Meriwether Lewis, he had much knowledge about the frontier. Lewis asked for help from William Clark, he also was a draftsman and frontiersman and had more knowledge than Meriwether. Both of the men made a plan to take a two-year trip to the ocean.

Read More
303 Words | 2 Pages

The document, Thomas Jefferson’s secret message to Congress about the Lewis and Clark expedition in 1803, tells us about Jefferson’s views of westward expansion and Native Americans. Jefferson really liked the idea of westward expansion; in addition, he saw the remarkable opportunities associated with it. Jefferson believed that the Native Americans could be coaxed into willingly giving up their land. The Americans were more deserving of Indian territories in the eyes of Jefferson, so he wanted to change their minds and get the Natives to hand over their land. Jefferson wanted to utilize two tactics to achieve this goal.

Read More
732 Words | 3 Pages

Lewis and Clark had a profound impact on the historical development of the United States, expanding the nation's understanding of its geography, and shaping the country's connection with Native Americans. The Geography of the Louisiana Purchase led to the development of many things. After realizing that the Northwest Passage didn’t exist, they

Read More
669 Words | 3 Pages

Thomas Jefferson was able to make one of the largest recorded purchases of land, doubling the size of the US overnight. But how did he do it? He was a strongly anti-federalist, so it did not make sense for him to make such a federalist move. In 1803 the US purchased the Louisiana territory (an 800,000 square mile piece of land) from france for 15 million dollars.

Read More
915 Words | 4 Pages

In January 1803, Jefferson wrote a secret message to Congress detailing his plans for scientific exploration of the West. He asked Congress for $2,500 to be used to fund a transcontinental journey of “an intelligent officer, with ten or twelve chosen men, fit for enterprise” to explore “to the Western Ocean.” He wanted the men to locate the Northwest Passage, if it existed, and to develop trade relations with American Indians in the West. This expedition would come to be called the Corps of Volunteers for North Western Discovery, or the Corps of

Read More
1044 Words | 5 Pages

Katelyn Cooper History 1301 Tue Thur 12:30 10/27/14 Reflective Essay The Louisiana Purchase was the real-estate deal of the 19th century. In 1801 Thomas Jefferson became president of the United States. At the same time Napoleon also became the emperor of France, which brought the French Revolution, the Republic, and the beginning of an attempt to expand the French Empire to conquer the world all to an end.

Read More
1057 Words | 5 Pages

New Orleans being a port city, it was a good passage for trade. Despite this, a rebellion in Haiti had shifted his focus off of the territory. Now that the land held no benefit to him, and was a large mass just taking up space, he decided his best option was to sell the land and gain the money for France (“Background”). Jefferson's only concern was securing the waterway into the Gulf of Mexico. He offered a sum of two million dollars for the port city alone.

Read More
530 Words | 3 Pages

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

Read More
186 Words | 1 Pages

The Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana purchase was one of the biggest land purchases in history. In 1803, the United States paid around $15 million dollars for around 800,000 square miles of land. This was arguably the greatest achievement of thomas jefferson’s presidency. The louisiana territory was a wild card in the european game of imperialism.

Read More
962 Words | 4 Pages

In what ways are governments trying to reduce the crime rate in poor neighborhoods? According to the Economist and many other newspapers, there a link between high crime rates and poverty. In this essay I will investigate how three different countries Sweden, USA and Australia are working to reduce their crime rates in targeted neighborhoods. In the end of the essay will write a conclusion of all my findings.

Read More

More about The Lewis And Clark Adventure That Changed Our World Summary

Related Topics

Open Document