Why did the Lewis and Clark Expedition Cross North America?
Why did the Lewis and Clark Expedition Cross North America?Meriwether Lewis and William Clark and the “Corps of Discovery” crossed the North American continent from 1804 to 1806, traveling from St. Louis, Missouri to the Pacific coast and back. Lewis and Clark kept journals and drew maps during their voyage, and their observations greatly increased the available information about the North American continent. Why did Lewis and Clark make their epic journey? There was an official reason, and then there were other, and perhaps better, reasons. Answer: The breadth and usefulness of information provided by the Lewis and Clark Expedition was remarkable. And in the political atmosphere of 1804, President Thomas Jefferson offered a practical reason that ensured Congress would appropriate funds for the expedition. But Jefferson also had several other reasons, ranging from purely scientific to a desire to thwart European nations from colonizing the western frontier of America. Earliest Reasons
