Why Is The Louisiana Purchase Important In American History

Lewis and Clark Expedition In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson handed over a small price of $15,000,000 for the Louisiana Territory, originally owned by France. After the treaty for the purchase was made, Jefferson issued an exploration of this new land. Jefferson ordered that his personal secretary, Meriwether Lewis, an intelligent and skilled man, be the leader of the expedition. As his personal assistant, Lewis selected the help of William Clark.

On May 14, 1804, Captain Meriwether Lewis and Co-Captain William Clark as well as forty-three other members consisting of brave soldiers, slaves, and interpreters set out to discover what was in the newly bought land from the recent Louisiana Purchase. This expedition would later be called the Lewis and Clark expedition. The Lewis and Clark expedition was a frontier in history because it found new information on plants and animals, developed a better understanding of native American tribes, and assisted in mapping out the newly purchased land from the Louisiana Purchase. The Lewis and Clark expedition was a journey undertaken by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark in the early 1800s.

Lewis and Clark’s expedition through the western part of America started in 1803 and vended in 1806. President Jefferson sent Lewis, Clark and U.S. army volunteers to explore the western part of America after it bought from France. During the expedition Lewis and Clark went through many difficult and fun times. They met with many different tribes and discovered things within the tribes the have never seen before. They also seen place they have never seen before, but wanted to.

Lewis and Clark Expedition In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson managed to initiate the Lewis and Clark Expedition, which was also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, after the Purchase of Louisiana, which was considered one of his highlights during his political career, marking the first government-sponsored exploration. President Thomas appointed Meriwether Lewis, the private secretary of the president, to be the Commander of the Expedition. Lewis also asked his close friend William Clark, who Lewis had served with in the army, to help him with the expedition and he actually named Clark the co-commander of the expedition. Generally speaking, the expedition had a significant impact on American history.

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.

Lewis and Clark “began the American invasion of the west,” (). They fulfilled “many of Jefferson’s wishes for the expedition,” (). Along the journey, Clark “drew a series of maps that were remarkably detailed, noting and naming rivers and creeks, writing down the spots where they camped and writing down new discoveries they made,” (). Lewis and Clark's’ adventure was successful in many ways because they

Meriwether Lewis and William Clark are well-known for their exploration westward in an effort to expand the United States territory. Lewis and Clark were charged with exploring the Louisiana territory, mapping the territory and water routes, recording land resources, establishing trade with the Native American people, and claiming the land in the West for the United States. During the expedition, Lewis and Clark had encounters with over 50 different Native American tribes, and in order to expand in the West, Thomas Jefferson encouraged Lewis and Clark to treat the Native American Indians in a friendly and non-hostile manner. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark were respectful to the Native Americans because they learned about each tribe’s culture,

The Major challenges That The Corps of Discovery Faced The Lewis and Clark Expedition was a federally funded venture to explore the North American West. The expedition's principal objective was to survey the Missouri and Columbia rivers, locating routes that would connect the continental interior to the Pacific Ocean. The Louisiana Purchase of 1803, in which the United States gained 828,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River, facilitated the mission, allowing the explorers unprecedented access to land that had previously been owned by Spain and then France. President Thomas Jefferson invested his time, energy, and political capital into this project and took direct charge of its initial planning and organization. The expedition

The Lewis and Clark expedition laid a foundation for future expansion to the West. This expedition ushered in a new idea of what America was and could be. These two men explored a new region, which no Americans, other than native peoples, had ever seen before. The reason they undertook this venture was to find a water way from the West to the Pacific Ocean; however, they had secondary reasons too.

I agree with the view that the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 contradicts Jefferson’s stance on not granting the federal government too much power because in fact, the purchase of this vast territory by the government did give federal authorities more power than was acceptable to the people. Additionally, purchasing new land was not stated in the Constitution; therefore, government did not have the right to take this course of action. As stated in “Jeffersonian Ideology” from Jefferson’s point of view: “Limiting the federal government flowed from his strict interpretation of the Constitution.” Jefferson had always been known to make strict interpretations of the federal government’s powers, but because of his desire to acquire new land in the

The Lewis and Clark expedition brought many conflicts among the spectacular journey. Their expedition was extremely important, yet unpleasantly dangerous. Lewis and Clark traveled from the middle east to the west coast of the Pacific Ocean, overcoming tough winters, rough terrain, and unfriendly Indian tribes. Each day brought new important information, but also unwelcoming hardships. Thomas Jefferson bought the Louisiana territory in 1803 by France, planning to expand the U.S territory, and National Archives stated, ”Jefferson hoped that Lewis and Clark would find a water route linking the Columbia and Missouri rivers.

Although Lewis and Clark did not accomplish their goal, they made their journey a success. First, Thomas Jefferson bought some massive land called,” The Louisiana Purchase” in 1803. He needed someone to study the vast land, and also see if there was a way to the Pacific Ocean. The president of 1803, Thomas Jefferson, sent Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, along with soldiers and various supplies. As Lewis in as the leader, and Clark in second commander, Jefferson created a group as of today, called the Corps of Discovery.

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

Lewis and Clark’s expedition was a bit different from Pike’s. While Lewis and Clark were exploring the northern part of the Louisiana Purchase, Pike on the other hand was exploring the southern parts. Throughout Lewis and Clark’s expedition they were able to make a connection with the native tribes. By becoming friends with the Natives this showed Lewis and Clark the land that the US would start moving into. During their expedition they cataloged 108 botanical and zoological specimens, 68 mineral specimens, as well as Clark’s map of the US.

After the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, many citizens were eager to find out more about this new land. Thomas Jefferson, the president of the United States at the time, “sent a secret letter to Congress asking for $2,500 to fund an expedition to the Pacific Ocean (Thomas Jefferson and the Lewis and Clark Expedition). He chose Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to lead this expedition. Lewis and Clark were some of the greatest heroes in our country because of their experience, how they interacted with their team and with the natives, and how they gave citizens a new outlook on their country.