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"President Jefferson
was faced with a serious question upon entering office. The
French were in desperate need of money offered us the entire
Louisiana Territory. Realizing the enormity of this
opportunity he agreed and the United States more than doubled
its size. Jefferson commission a team lead by Lewis and Clark
to investigate and map the new Louisiana Territory from St
Louis to the Pacific Ocean. "Great joy in Camp we are in view
of the Ocean, this great Pacific Ocean which we been so long
anxious to see and the roaring or noise made by the waves
braking on the rocky shores (as I suppose) may be heard
distinctly". William Clark in his Voyage of Discovery Journal.
"The Lewis and Clark Expedition, or "Corps of
Discovery Expedition" (1804–1806) was the first
transcontinental
expedition to the Pacific Coast by the United States.
Commissioned by President
Thomas Jefferson
and led by two Virginia-born veterans of Indian wars in the
Ohio Valley,
Meriwether Lewis
and
William Clark,
the expedition had several goals. Their objects were both
scientific and commercial – to study the area's plants, animal
life, and geography, and to discover how the region could be
exploited economically."
Source:
Wikipedia |