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Thomas
Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was elected to the presidency in 1800, and decided to
organize an official, government-sponsored expedition to explore
the upper reaches of the Missouri River and travel overland to the
Pacific Ocean. He chose Meriwether Lewis, his personal secretary,
to lead the expedition. In January 1803 Lewis traveled to Philadelphia
for intensive courses with the leading American scientists, learning
the use of scientific instruments, the rudiments of surveying, medicine,
natural history and ethnology. In June of 1803 Lewis asked William
Clark, a friend from army service, to serve as co-leader of the
expedition.
Meriwether
Lewis
When President Thomas Jefferson considered a potential leader for an
expedition across the continent to the Pacific Coast in 1803, he
looked no farther than his personal secretary, Meriwether Lewis.
"It was impossible to find a character," wrote Jefferson, "who to
a compleat science in botany, natural history, mineralogy & astronomy,
joined the firmness of constitution & character, prudence, habits
adapted to the woods, & a familiarity with the Indian manners &
character, requisite for this undertaking. All the latter qualifications
Capt. Lewis has." Who was Meriwether Lewis, what events led him
to the point of enjoying the President's complete confidence, and
what happened to him after the famous expedition which bears his
name?
William Clark
William Clark is most famous for his co-leadership of the epic Lewis and
Clark Expedition of 1804-06. Less well-known are his contributions
to American Indian diplomacy, which occupied a large portion of
the remainder of his career. If not for the positive relations maintained
by Clark with several tribes during the crucial early years of westward
expansion, the map of the United States might look significantly
different today. Blending fairness, honesty and strength with patience,
respect and understanding, Clark recognized the personal dignity
of American Indians, honoring their cultures and religious beliefs.
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