Why Did Meriwether Lewis Die

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Meriwether Lewis was the leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition that was commissioned by President Jefferson to explore the Louisiana Territory. He came back from this trip with new knowledge of the Louisiana Territory proving that the Louisiana Purchase benefitted the whole country. This made him a hero and further strengthened his friendship with Jefferson. Jefferson later appointed Lewis as the governor of the whole Louisiana Territory. The governorship was significant not only because of the title, but because his rival, James Wilkinson, was turned down for the job because of Lewis. Even as governor, however, Lewis faced mounting debts. He was travelling to Washington to collect money that was owed to him by the U.S. Government and to take his journals to a publisher, both of which would bring him a significant amount of money to help him pay off his debts. On the way, his life was cut short. When investigating the death of Meriwether Lewis, the question arises: why would anyone want Meriwether Lewis dead? If …show more content…

Some believe this because they find Mrs. Grinder’s account plausible or at least memorable. Her account, however, which states that he shot himself with two bullets in two parts of his body and was still able to talk appears implausible after further examination. If Meriwether was shot in either of those parts of his body he would have been rendered immobilized, and definitely wouldn’t be able to reload the gun to shoot himself again. Others point to his personal issues and his health. This, they argue, gave him a motive for suicide. An objective look at Lewis at this stage of his life, however, would seem to refute such a view. Meriwether Lewis had everything going for him, he was about to try to get paid, why would he kill himself now? It seems that a man in such a position would not have a reason for