The Louisiana Purchase: The Lewis And Clark Expedition

In 1803, the United States purchased about 828,000,000 square miles from France in what we call the Louisiana Purchase. (1) The Louisiana Purchase is accredited as President Thomas Jefferson’s biggest achievement while in office. It doubled the United States in size, led to the Lewis and Clark expedition, and the Trail of Tears, The Louisiana Purchase is believed to be, by many historians, a result of France not defeating a slave revolution in Haiti as well as preparing for a war with Great Britain. (1) Talks with France to complete the purchase began in early April 1803, and the treaty was signed on April 30, 1803. (1) The Louisiana Purchase expanded the United States from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains and from the Gulf of Mexico to the Canadian border. In 1804, President Thomas Jefferson recruited Meriwether Lewis and William Clarke …show more content…
Louis, Missouri. Lewis kept a journal in which he recorded new plants and animals that the expedition encountered. Along the way, the expedition picked up two Native Americans, Sacagawea and Touissant Charbonneau, to serve as interpreters for the expedition. (2) In November of 1805, the expedition reached the Pacific Ocean, and built Fort Clatsop, in what is today Oregon, and spent the winter there. (2) In 1806, Lewis and Clarke each took a different route to see which way would be faster to go back to St. Louis. Lewis was accidently shot by one of the men in the expedition during a hunting trip. Lewis and Clark met up at the Missouri River, and went the rest of the way back together. After a long two years, the Lewis and Clark expedition returned to Washington as heroes. The expedition took about 8,000 miles through mountains, streams, and on foot. (2) The Lewis and Clark expedition led to one of the biggest removals of Native American’s from their lands. It would later become known as the Trail of