What message did President Jefferson give Lewis and Clark?

Introduction. President Thomas Jefferson sent a secret message to Congress on January 18, 1803, asking for “the appropriation of two thousand five hundred dollars, for the purpose of extending the external commerce of the United States.” This money was used to fund the Lewis & Clark expedition.

What instructions did Jefferson give Lewis and Clark?

Jefferson’s instructions to fix the trading route to the Pacific by observation meant that Lewis and Clark should mark territory—measure and map it by making marks on paper like a bear makes claw marks on trees.

Why did Jefferson give instructions to Lewis?

President Thomas Jefferson gave Meriwether Lewis detailed instructions for the expedition. Jefferson specified the kinds of information Lewis should obtain about any American Indian nations he might encounter.

Who was the leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition?

Sources The Lewis and Clark Expedition began in 1804, when President Thomas Jefferson tasked Meriwether Lewis with exploring lands west of the Mississippi River that comprised the Louisiana Purchase. Lewis chose William Clark as his co-leader for the mission.

Why was Jefferson interested in Lewis and Clark?

In misleading Congress, Jefferson had temporarily stifled his distaste for an abuse of executive privilege to achieve a strategic goal. A product of the Enlightenment, Jefferson was a man with strong political principles, but he was also fascinated by what the expedition might yield in terms of scientific discovery and adventure.

Who was in Jefferson’s letter of instructions to Lewis?

In the meantime, Lewis had enlisted William Clark, experienced frontier army soldier and younger brother of Revolutionary War hero George Rogers Clark, to join him as co-captain of the Corps of Discovery. In his letter of instructions to Meriwether Lewis, national expansion and economic development dominated Jefferson’s thinking.

What was the cost of the Lewis and Clark Expedition?

Jefferson officially asked for $2,500 in funding from Congress, though some sources indicate the expedition ultimately cost closer to $50,000. Meriwether Lewis was joined by his friend William Clark and 50 others on the journey, including an African-American slave and a female Indian guide named Sacagawea.

What did Jefferson want to do with Lewis and Clark?

For at least twenty years before he launched Lewis and Clark across two thousand miles into immortality, Jefferson had planned for a transcontinental expedition starting up the Missouri River.

Sources The Lewis and Clark Expedition began in 1804, when President Thomas Jefferson tasked Meriwether Lewis with exploring lands west of the Mississippi River that comprised the Louisiana Purchase. Lewis chose William Clark as his co-leader for the mission.

In the meantime, Lewis had enlisted William Clark, experienced frontier army soldier and younger brother of Revolutionary War hero George Rogers Clark, to join him as co-captain of the Corps of Discovery. In his letter of instructions to Meriwether Lewis, national expansion and economic development dominated Jefferson’s thinking.

How did John Thomas Evans help Lewis and Clark?

John Thomas Evans, who reached the Mandans in 1796, received instructions from his employer, James Mackay, that seem to anticipate Jefferson’s instructions to Lewis and Clark. Evans was asked to ascend the Missouri to its headwaters, inquire of the Indians about a river flowing “toward the setting sun,” and descend this stream to the Pacific.