Relationship Between Lewis And Clark

The year of 1803 significantly changed our nation eternally. It stunned many people. In no way, shape or form, did we ever believe that our nation would expand so rapidly. What started with the small purchase of New Orleans led into the substantial purchase of the Louisiana Territory. This was a purchase that will make Thomas Jefferson a man to be remembered. Although, he wasn’t the only man who impacted the United States during this time period. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark are the two men that are greatly known for their expedition across the Louisiana Territory. These two subjects, the Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis and Clark Expedition, altered our nation immeasurably.

Meriwether Lewis was a confidant of Thomas Jefferson, who was the 3rd President of the United States. When Jefferson bought Louisiana from Bonaparte, the federal government thought that the land purchased was a “worthless desert.” To prove them wrong, Jefferson commissioned Lewis and Clark’s Mission of Discovery. The expedition went on for 2 years with 3 goals in mind. When Lewis and Clark came back from the expedition, Jefferson put Lewis as the governor of upper Louisiana. Lewis also informed Jefferson of the expedition, and attempted to publish his book. Coming back into Louisiana as the governor, he dealt with financial issues. In D.C., it was rumored that he was embezzling money from Louisiana.

In 1803, Thomas Jefferson ordered Meriwether Lewis to be the leader of the discovery and William Clark to be his co-leader. They were to travel into the Louisiana Territory that they had purchased and learn more about the geography and to develop knowledge about the future expansion of the fur trade. Jefferson made supplies available such as clothing, firearms, and equipment which was set at a fixed amount. They were to observe and track the entire area and find out where they could find resources and stable settlement. Much of the land was unidentified but, Jefferson wanted to increase the amount of land to the Pacific to make the American claim more powerful. The expedition began in December of 1803 and Clark enlisted and instructed men near

The Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis and Clark expeditions were big turning points in American history because of the ability to settle into new lands and to start new businesses and farms in new places. When Thomas Jefferson bought the entire Louisiana territory from Napoleon it was a huge advantage to our economy. It enabled us to start new businesses and farms, thus making us a much richer and more powerful country. Since it enabled America to start new farms it fed into Jeffersons philosophy of wanting a more agricultural economy. This purchase helped our trading significantly, we could trade much easier with different countries because we had access to the Mississippi River. When Jefferson purchased the Louisiana territory from Napoleon he did not really even know what he was buying, except for the size of the territory. So, he sent a group of explorers to document and map out the entire Louisiana territory, this expedition was led by two men named Lewis and Clark. They founded many new animals and set an example for the Americans that would later on settle these areas for how to live in each certain area of the Louisiana purchase. . The Louisiana Purchase followed by Lewis and Clarks expedition were both big investments that payed off huge for America.

The expedition of Lewis and Clark began on May 21,1804. Meriwether Lewis was born on August 18, 1774 in Albemarle County, Virginia. Lewis met Clark in 1795 in the army. Lewis was asked to be Thomas Jefferson’s private secretary in 1801. Clark was born on August 1, 1770 near Caroline County, Virginia. Clark first entered the military at age 19 and served in the militia. Lewis asked Clark for help on the exploration and made him co-captain. With purchasing land from France called the Louisiana Purchase in April 1803, Jefferson wanted to find a water route that linked Columbia and the Missouri river, connected Pacific Ocean with the Missouri river system, and gave Western land access to port out of Mexico to the East. President also wanted to know what the land he recently bought was like. Lewis and Clark’s expedition immediately got easier with the help of Toussaint Charbonneau and his wife, Sacagawea on November 4, 1804. Sacagawea and her husband helped the exploration run more smoothly without the chance of misunderstanding with the Native American tribes. When Lewis and Clark returned to president Jefferson, they were treated as national heroes. They received gifts such as double pay. The men on the expedition

In the early 1800s, little was known about the land west of the Mississippi. So when Thomas Jefferson made the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, he really didn’t know what he had just bought. From 1801 to 1809 Thomas Jefferson was president. America had only been an independent country for 30 years, so there was still a lot to know about the American land. The Lewis and Clark expedition was important to the United States of America because of the way it began, the important discoveries they made along the way, and the impact it had on the American people when they returned.

As a president, Thomas Jeffereson made several changes to the United States, but his most important decision was the Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis and Clark expedition. The Lousiana Purchase would double the size of the United States and let people settle there when there were trail marked on maps and other places. After he bought the land, he sent Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to explore the western part of the country with a group of 31 men known as the Corps of Discovery. According to the book, "The animal specimens they sent back and their sketches and journal description of the plants, animals, and natural formations that they saw greatly contributed to the scientific knowledge and to a natural fascination with the West." This shows that because Thomas Jefferson sent the Corps of Dicovery on the expedition the people in the thirteen colonies got a lot of knowledge about the west when the explorers came back.

The Louisiana Purchase nearly doubled the size of the United States in 1803. Jefferson decided to buy the land because he wanted to increase the United States’s territory towards the Pacific ocean and to avoid a war with the French. Due to the purchase, Jefferson sent Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to explore the new unfamiliar land with three goals. The goals were to makes maps of the newly bought territory and find a river passage to the Pacific ocean, make peace with the Native American, and to record and send back discoveries of new plant and animal life that lived within the Louisiana Territory. These were the goals that Lewis and Clark had to achieve.

Jefferson recommended James Monroe to join Livingston in Pairs as minister, to negotiate and find a way to Purchase the Territory of Louisiana. Later, Jefferson asked the congress to fund for the expedition that would cross the Louisiana territory, regardless of who controlled it, and proceed on the Pacific (Monticello). Which would become known as the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Monroe owned a land in Kentucky and had a spoken openly for the rights of western territories, and so Jefferson wanted Monroe to accept the posting, saying that Monroe had “the unlimited confidence of the administration & of the Western people” (Monticello). Where he also added, that it all depended on him for the sake of the future destinies of the republic. Then after, Jefferson sends a letter to the governor of Kentucky, to inform him about the arrangements that were made with Monroe to secure the rights and interests in the Mississippi, and the country Eastward of that. It was also said in the letter, that Monroe goal was to obtain the land east of the Mississippi. It had all the instructions, even drawn up, where it was allocated up to 10 million just for the purchase of New Orleans and all or part if the Floridas. If the such bid failed, Monroe had to find a way to try to purchase just New Orleans, or for the very least, have access to the

When the names Lewis and Clark are mentioned, many people will have an automatic picture of raccoon skin hats, Sacagawea, and the exploration of the Louisiana Purchase. One half of the famous duo was Captain Merriweather Lewis. Jefferson had played mentor to Lewis allowing him access to the vast library in Jefferson’s estate, Monticello. Lewis had impressed Jefferson with his willingness to educate himself. (LEWIS) On Feb 23, 1801 Jefferson offered Lewis the role as the President’s personal secretary.

In “ The Journals of Lewis and Clark” there are many descriptive, personal discoveries and journeys Lewis and Clark encounter. The entry tilted “Poor Starved Devils” dated in 1805 discusses how Captain Lewis was intrigued and entertained by the Indians. Lewis would watch them hunt from his tent, but realized they weren’t very successful. Unfortunately, all they had were their arrows and exhausted horses so within the two hours they hunted the Indians only killed two to three antelopes. Captain Lewis then spoke with the Chief so Lewis could have a better understanding of the geography of the river and surrounding land. As they finally left their resting point, Lewis was not convinced he was completely safe, nor did the Indians have their full

William and Meriwether, better known as Lewis and Clark, were hired by the U.S. president Thomas Jefferson to explore the newly bought Louisiana Purchase. The Louisiana Purchase was bought from France in 1803. Lewis and Clark started their expedition in 1804 near St. Louis. The group of explorers called themselves the corps of discovery. In the first winter they were helped by a Shoshone Indian named Sacagawea. Their journey was full of trouble and challenges but in the end led to a great discovery that changed the lives and beliefs of people everywhere. Their expedition stretched from camp wood to fort Clatsop. Lewis and Clark knew each other from the war where Clark was under William Lewis’s command later then Thomas Jefferson recruited Clark to lead this exploration and then he went to William Lewis to ask him to come along with him.

The film “Lewis and Clark: Great Journey West” by National Geographic was well made and very informative. The documentary even gave you the small bits of information such as how Lewis almost lost his life two days in the journey or how Lewis was a constant victim of mosquitoes. The film also continuously read passages from the journals of Lewis and Clark which helped you have an idea of personality of the explorers. Lewis and Clark were very inspirational and admired by the men because the film said that there is no evidence “that the two ever argued.” They also seemed very effective leaders since the film never mentioned any complaints from the men of their leaders.

Either way, Lewis was the man for the job. He had skill as a gentleman, politician and military officer as well as skill with the sciences and all the knowledge of Indians as could be found. With his friend William Clark as his equal for the journey, they spent the fall and winter in preparation. Jefferson had given Lewis a “blank check” with the understanding that he should buy what he needed and the U.S. government would pay the bill, despite the fact that only $2500 had originally been approved by congress before the formal purchase of the Louisiana Territory. (Jefferson)

In 1800 Thomas Jefferson was elected president. With the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, Jefferson had the vision of the United States growing from sea to sea. However, it was unknown what was out there. Jefferson planned an exploratory expedition and called upon Meriwether Lewis to lead it. Jefferson was very interested in what was in the west lands. Much was involved in the carrying out of this expedition; the preparations for this trip, what happened during their long journey west, and the return home. This expedition was very important in the development of the United States.