Essay On The Jeffersonian Era

Ricki Miguel
Due September 2nd, 2011
APUSH P.1
Chapter Seven Essay- The Jeffersonian Era
In the year of 1804, two men led an expedition of discovery that expanded a young nation's economic potential, increased its scientific understanding, and as well as enhanced its worldwide reputation. The significant westward expansion was called the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The United States third president, Thomas Jefferson, named Meriwether Lewis the main leader of the expedition and Lewis chose William Clark to accompany him on his glorious journey. Meriwhether Lewis was a veteran of Indian wars skilled in the ways of the wilderness and William Clark was Lewis's commanding officer in the army and also an experienced frontiersman and Indian
fighter just like his older brother George Rodgers Clark. Jefferson had been longing to know how the lands of the western area were like, so he took action and planned out the journey. Prior to the westward exploration, the Louisiana Purchase had been established, thus guaranteeing the Lewis and Clark expedition to set off.
Jefferson's purpose for the trip was both to study the area's plants, animal life, and geography, and to discover how the region could be exploited economically. According to Jefferson, one goal was to find a direct and usable water communication across this continent in order to commerce with Asia. Jefferson also placed special importance on declaring the United States sovereignty over the Native American tribes along the Missouri River and getting a sense of how many resources were located in the recently-completed Louisiana Purchase.
Lewis and Clark were accompanied by a fifteen-year-old Shoshone Indian woman, Sacajawea, the wife of a French-Canadian fur trader.
After crossing the Rocky Mountains, the expedition reached the Pacific Ocean in the area of present-day Oregon in November 1805. They returned in 1806, bringing with them an immense amount of information about the region as well as numerous plant and animal specimens. Reports about geography, plant and animal life, and Indian cultures appeared all over the states local newspapers. Although Lewis and Clark failed to find a commercial route to Asia, they demonstrated the possibility of overland travel to the Pacific coast. They found Native Americans in the trans-Mississippi West accustomed to dealing with European traders and already connected to global markets. The success of their journey helped to strengthen the idea that United States territory was destined to expand its territories all the way to the Pacific coastline. The importance of the well-planned, well-executed expedition was crucial. Although it was not the first transcontinental crossing in the north, it still opened large new territories to the United States. The expedition's influence on the history of the West is immeasurable and
boundless.
In conclusion, the 'famous' Lewis and Clark expedition brought back a multitude of scientific information, including maps, the bones and hides from animal specimens, and caged birds and prairie dogs. Of the utmost value were their voluminous journals and diaries, which provided detailed firsthand descriptions of the plant and animal life, geography, and Native peoples encountered during the journey. Although Lewis and Clark failed to locate a convenient water passage to the Pacific Ocean, they were nonetheless greatly rewarded for their efforts. The U.S. government awarded both men 1,600 acres of land, while each member of the expedition received 320 acres and double pay. Lewis was later appointed governor of the Louisiana Territory, while Clark held a similar post in the Missouri Territory. Their most lasting achievement, however, was their contribution to the opening of the American West. Which would later lead the United States to another historical period of time called the Manifest Destiny.