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Thomas Jefferson, President of the United States in 1803, made a deal with France that doubled the size of the country. The Louisiana Purchase opened a huge expanse of land beyond it that needed to be explored and settled. The President believed that one day the United States would expand all the way to the coast, even though this land was controlled by Spain at the time.
President Jefferson needed some explorers to make a journey through Louisiana all the way to the shores of the Pacific Ocean.
Jefferson particularly wanted to know if American travelers could journey overland to the Pacific Ocean following two rivers, the Missouri and the Columbia, which flow east and west from the Rocky Mountains. This could greatly enhance trade with British fur companies from Canada and make traveling easier. The President was hoping to find the river large enough for ships to use to transport goods and people all the way to the Pacific Ocean.
President Jefferson chose Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to head this expedition. Meriwether Lewis was an old childhood friend of the President and had also served as his presidential secretary. William Clark had served in the army for many years alongside Lewis and was a natural choice for his ability to explore.
Lewis and Clark hand-picked thirty men to accompany them on the trek west. They called the expedition the Corps of Discovery. They departed on the journey from St. Louis on May 14, 1804 knowing they might never return.
There are many journals and records that have been well preserved of the expedition. Lewis and Clark encouraged all the members to keep journals to record the beautiful sites they would see and the animals and plants they encountered on what would be an 8000 mile round journey.
Before winter they wanted to reach the villages of the Mandan and Hidatsa Indians. It was 1300 miles from St. Louis. The route they took had been traveled by French traders for the past 20 years, but was not well mapped out and documented.
Lewis and Clark and crew stayed the winter with the Mandan Indians. When the company left in the Spring they were accompanied by a French-Canadian and his wife Sacagawea. Sacagawea was a Shoshone Indian and could assist them as a translator. Sacagawea proved invaluable on the trip. Not only did she translate but she also showed them edible plants and worked as a guide to the company. Sacagawea has gone down in history as a major contributor to the success of the expedition.
Lewis and Clark identified several species of animals that had not been discovered; prairie dogs, white pelicans, coyotes and terns to name just a few. Besides mapping out trails and landmarks they also returned with many plant samples and animal samples that had never been documented by American scientists. They met up with more than fifty American-Indian tribes along the way. But, through all the explorations they were unable to find the river that President Jefferson was hoping for; a river that was big enough that ships could sail to the Pacific Ocean on.
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