Anthony Price
1/13/14
NIC History 111
Long before Thomas Jefferson was the President of the United States he had aspirations to know what was beyond the Mississippi River. The purchase of the Louisiana Territory from the French in 1803 opened the door to President Jefferson’s opportunity to send explorers across the continent. At that time, nearly the whole population of the United States lived within 50 miles of the Atlantic Ocean. Because of this, all of the knowledge of the west had come from French fur trappers and other explorers from other countries. Jefferson sent Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to lead a team of explorers to the Pacific Ocean with the goals of mapping and learning about the area, creating relations with the Indians of those parts, and finding an all-water route to the Pacific Ocean. The expedition of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark was a journey full of bumps and struggles, but it would eventually lead to great opportunities and discoveries for the United States of America. Thomas Jefferson specifically chose Meriwether Lewis to head this journey through the Louisiana Territory. Lewis had …show more content…
The findings of the Corps of Discovery were very extensive and led to many opportunities for the young and developing country of America. Although one of the major goals of finding an all-water route to the Pacific was not fulfilled, but they were able to create maps and fill up many books worth of information that they obtained on the voyage. Another success was the relations that they had gained with the Native Americans from all of the trade and congregations with them. Overall the Lewis and Clark expedition was extremely beneficial and one of Thomas Jefferson’s most enduring