Louisiana Purchase and Lewis & Clark
The Louisiana Purchase has been known as the greatest real estate deal in U.S. history. The Louisiana Territory covered 909,00 square miles of land. The land was first claimed by France then owned by Spain in 1762, then was ceded back to France 40 years later. Then the United States purchased the territory on December 20th, 1803. This territory nearly doubled the size of the United States and gave way to millions of possibilities for the nation. The purchase of this western territory transformed the nation by providing more land for farming and settlement for farmers and U.S. citizens.
Before all this new settlement could take place, the nation would have to explore and map the territory first. Thomas Jefferson sent Meriwether Lewis, William Clark and the Corps of Discovery (team of 45 skilled frontiersmen) to map the land and to take notes on the flora and fauna of the area. They left the summer of 1803 on the Ohio River taking a keelboat. The expedition was very rough and unsettling because of the unknown land. Lewis and Clark met Native American tribes like the Sioux, Oto, Mandan, Clatsop, Hidasta, and the Shoshone like Sacagawea who helped guide them through the foreign territory. The travelers found the Columbia River which Clark believes to be the Pacific Ocean and writes "Ocian in View! O the joy." on November 7th, 1805. They finally reach the Pacific Ocean on November 24th, 1805 and start to head back home on March 23rd, 1806. The Lewis and Clark expedition transformed the nation because they gained the trust of the Native Americans and mapped out and took notes on the western territories qualities.
Before all this new settlement could take place, the nation would have to explore and map the territory first. Thomas Jefferson sent Meriwether Lewis, William Clark and the Corps of Discovery (team of 45 skilled frontiersmen) to map the land and to take notes on the flora and fauna of the area. They left the summer of 1803 on the Ohio River taking a keelboat. The expedition was very rough and unsettling because of the unknown land. Lewis and Clark met Native American tribes like the Sioux, Oto, Mandan, Clatsop, Hidasta, and the Shoshone like Sacagawea who helped guide them through the foreign territory. The travelers found the Columbia River which Clark believes to be the Pacific Ocean and writes "Ocian in View! O the joy." on November 7th, 1805. They finally reach the Pacific Ocean on November 24th, 1805 and start to head back home on March 23rd, 1806. The Lewis and Clark expedition transformed the nation because they gained the trust of the Native Americans and mapped out and took notes on the western territories qualities.