In this secret message of January 18, 1803, President Jefferson asked Congress for $2,500 to explore the West—-all the way to the Pacific Ocean. At the time, the territory did not belong to the United States. Congress agreed to fund the expedition that would be led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark.
The modesty of the request, couched principally in terms of promoting commerce,
belied the grandeur of the vision behind it. Jefferson had long been fascinated
with the West and dreamed of a United States that would stretch across the entire
continent.
Jefferson instructed Meriwether Lewis, who commanded the expedition jointly
with William Clark, to seek new trade routes, to befriend the western tribes
of Indians, and to report on the geography, geology, astronomy, zoology, botany,
and climate of the West. The 8,000-mile expedition provided the U.S. Government
with its first glimpse of the vast lands that lay west of the Mississippi River.
President Jefferson worked closely with Meriwether Lewis to ensure that he
was well prepared—anticipating what the party would need in the way of
arms, food, medicines, camping gear, scientific instruments, and presents for
the Indians. They planned well. While the expedition ran out of such luxuries
as whiskey, tobacco, and salt, they never ran out of rifles and powder, needed
both for self-defense and food supply—and they never ran out of ink and
paper, needed to record their findings.
For more information and other documents from the Lewis and Clark expedition,
visit the Expansion
and Reform section of the National Archives' American Originals exhibition.
(Information excerpted from Stacey Bredhoff, American
Originals [Seattle: The University of Washington Press, 2001], p. 28.)
