What did Jefferson have to do with the Lewis and Clark expedition?
What did Jefferson have to do with the Lewis and Clark expedition?
The Lewis and Clark Expedition began in 1804, when President Thomas Jefferson tasked Meriwether Lewis with exploring lands west of the Mississippi River that comprised the Louisiana Purchase. Lewis chose William Clark as his co-leader for the mission.
Who was in Jefferson’s letter of instructions to Lewis?
In the meantime, Lewis had enlisted William Clark, experienced frontier army soldier and younger brother of Revolutionary War hero George Rogers Clark, to join him as co-captain of the Corps of Discovery. In his letter of instructions to Meriwether Lewis, national expansion and economic development dominated Jefferson’s thinking.
What did Jefferson ask Lewis and Clark to do?
Jefferson had handed Lewis and Clark a daunting list of tasks that required scientific and technical abilities, talent in diplomacy, political sagacity, backwoods adeptness, military adroitness, and literary and cartographic competence. The list of goals also posed challenges, a kind of test of Jefferson’s whole idea.
Who was the leader of Jefferson’s expedition?
In addition to being political representatives of their nation, the Expedition leaders would also be Jefferson’s ethnographers.
Who was chosen to lead the western expedition?
Months before his message to Congress, the president had chosen Meriwether Lewisto lead the western expedition.
In the meantime, Lewis had enlisted William Clark, experienced frontier army soldier and younger brother of Revolutionary War hero George Rogers Clark, to join him as co-captain of the Corps of Discovery. In his letter of instructions to Meriwether Lewis, national expansion and economic development dominated Jefferson’s thinking.
When did Jefferson ask for funding for the Lewis and Clark Expedition?
On this day in 1803, Thomas Jefferson requests funding from Congress to finance the Lewis and Clark expedition. Jefferson officially asked for $2,500 in funding from Congress, though some sources indicate the expedition ultimately cost closer to $50,000.
How did Lewis and Clark influence the westward expansion?
Upon their return, the duo’s reports of the exotic and awe-inspiring new lands they had encountered sparked a new wave of westward expansion.
In addition to being political representatives of their nation, the Expedition leaders would also be Jefferson’s ethnographers.
