The Louis and Clark Expedition essays

The Louis and Clark Expedition essays Manifest Destiny was a belief held by numerous politicians and nationalists. Manifest Destiny is the belief in the 1840's that the United States had a divine mission to spread liberty across the continent, from the Atlantic Coast to the Pacific Coast. Although the statement was made some 42 years after the Louisiana Purchase, the statement still holds true to the time of the purchase, but not openly declared. The Louisiana Purchase was a critical turning point for the young and still undeveloped United States, and it was an excellent bargain too, selling in the end for only 15 million dollars. America was already fulfilling its manifest destiny, but the most significant part of the expansion was the expedition to navigate it. Thomas Jefferson, president at the time, chose his secretary, Meriwether Louis, to lead the expedition. Louis then chose William Clark as his secondary officer. The expedition took two years to complete, from May 1804 to September 1806, and covered about 8,000 miles going from St. Louis, Missouri to the Pacific Coast, and returning. There was still the belief of finding the Northwest Passage, and this was Jefferson's goal. But the most significant goal was to find this passage, and map out rivers and waterways that can be used for further westward expansion. Even though Louis and Clark did not find the Northwest Passage, they made peaceful contact with Native Americans, and learned a great deal about the geography of the land. But these were yet not even the greatest goal of the expedition-and that was to establish the basis of westward expansion, which therefore has a domino effect, leading to the traveling to new lands (for the Americans), the development of territories, and then the instating of new states, and gaining all the land in North America under Canada, and even other lands. In truth, President Jefferson was planning an expedition even before the Louisiana Purchase. But when it did come alo...