How Did Lewis And Clark Influence On Thomas Jefferson

Having a presidential term from 1801 to 1809, Thomas Jefferson was able to succeed in being the third president of the United States of America. Not only was Jefferson the president of the United States, but before he was also the Secretary of State for President Washington. For most of his life, Jefferson was actively involved in shaping America and is greatly remembered by being one of our Founding Fathers. Since Jefferson studied government and practiced law during college, he seemed fit to help draft and write the Declaration of Independence since he was in the Continental Congress. This document proclaimed individual rights’, which Jefferson was a fan of. Jefferson was a strong believer in strict construction, which was abiding to what the Constitution specifically states, and not stretching its boundaries. This belief would affect the choices he made for this country. Hamilton believed in loose construction, which is the complete opposite of Jefferson’s idea, and was also pro-British, where Jefferson was pro-French. These disagreements would cause these two men to clash, causing Jefferson to step down since Washington was more influenced …show more content…
Since this land was new and unknown, “Jefferson initiated an exploration of the newly purchased land and territory beyond the “great rock mountains” in the West.” ("Teaching With Documents: The Lewis and Clark Expedition."). Jefferson chose Meriwether Lewis and his friend, William Clark, to explore the unsettled area because they were trained and informed men on how to map, navigate and explore areas. Jefferson relied on Lewis and Clark to write down and map everything they saw. In the end, Lewis and Clark discovered fertile land, vast plains and buffalo herds. ("Teaching With Documents: The Lewis and Clark Expedition."). These findings helped advance the nation into becoming a first rank