Lewis & Clark & The Louisiana Purchase

Who are Lewis & Clark?

Meriwether Lewis was born in Virginia, August 18,1774. He was raised in Georgia and in 1793 he graduated from college. He then went back to Virginia and joined the militia. Later he became a captain in the United States Army. At 27 years old, he became secretary to the third president Thomas Jefferson.

William Clark was also born in Virginia, August 1, 1770, but moved to Kentucky. With 19 years he also like Lewis joined the state militia and then the regular Army, where he served with Lewis and was eventually asked to be lieutenant of infantry by President George Washington the former president.

Louisiana Purchase

The Louisiana Purchase was originally French territory. Ben Franklin was in France at the time and made a deal with the French for ＄15 million dollars. First, he tried for ＄2 million, then ＄5 million the last offer was ＄10 million. France said yes to the deal with only ＄5 million dollars for the whole territory. In just a few seconds he country became double the size it was before.

But the interesting thing was that not even the French knew how big the western frontier was. So that is the reason why Lewis & Clark went on the expedition.

Preparations

In order to goon the trip, you had to be prepared. You couldn’t just go and expect to live in a place where you or non-Native Americans have never been. They spent a long time deciding what to pack and what not to pack. A few weeks before they started their journey they decided what to bring; surveying instruments including compasses, quadrants, telescope, chronometer, camping supplies including oilcloth, steel flints, tools, utensils, corn mill, mosquito netting, fishing equipment, soap and salt, clothing, weapons and ammunition, medicines and medical supplies, books on botany, geography and astronomy, maps.

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Lewis also collected gifts to present to Native Americans along the journey such as; beads, face paint, knives, tobacco, ivory combs, bright colored cloth, ribbons, sewing notions, and mirrors. Also to help them on their journey they assembled the Corps of Discovery.

What did They Do on the Journey?

They set out on May 14, 1804. The expedition party included 45 people including Lewis, Clark, 27 single soldiers, a French-Indian interpreter, a contracted boat crew and a slave owned by Clark.

You might think that all they did was sit in a wagon and sleep. Lewis and Clark were actually somewhat busy. Lewis enjoyed studying plant life, rocks and animals. During the next six months, they had their first encounter with Native Americans. Most tribes were friendly. Others were not so much.