Westward Expansion: The Lewis And Clark Expedition

In the beginning of the nineteenth century, the Louisiana territory was the last remaining obstacle for U.S. expansion against the British. But suddenly, America had a new problem: France. During his reign as the French emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte controlled the Louisiana territory and he wasn’t planning on giving it up, however, he eventually had to abandon his imperial plans in America. His attention shifted to a French colony that was revolting in Haiti, led by François Dominique Toussaint, or L’Ouverture. Napoleon then had to sell the territory in order to keep things under control.
He ended up selling the territory to the United States in 1803 for $15,000,000 dollars, which included the land west of the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains. This newly acquired land stretched from the Gulf of Mexico to the Canadian Border, and more than doubled the size of colonial America. This purchase turned the nation’s eyes westward and in turn led directly to the Lewis and Clark Expedition. For some, such as the Native Americans, this expedition was the beginning of the end, but for America, it was a new beginning for westward expansion.
After having acquired an enormous amount of land in the Louisiana Purchase, President Thomas …show more content…
As mentioned before, Jefferson wanted to find a way to direct more trade into America channels, but to do that, they would need the help of the natives. Indian diplomacy was high on the Jefferson’s agenda because it was a large building block for colonial America’s economy. In addition, if they could make friends with the Indians then they might share knowledge about the western lands. Jefferson needed Lewis to bring back information on the languages, culture, and the land holdings of the Indians he met. And to do this, Lewis would extend the goodwill of the U.S. government to the Indians in the West, however, his main goal remained in studying