Lewis and Clark's Expedition - Essay Example

Lewis and Clarks Expedition Lewis and Clarks expedition was sanctioned by President Thomas Jefferson in 1803. Although Meriwether Lewis was the one chosen as the frontiersman, he solicited assistance of William Clark who had outstanding abilities as a draftsman and a frontiersman. Was this exhibition necessary? This is a question many have asked. Coming right after making of the Louisiana Purchase Treaty, one would say that it was only prudent that a feasibility study to explore the newly purchased land and the larger territory beyond the West’s "great rock mountains".

The expedition by Lewis and Clark did not just fulfill most of President Jefferson had anticipated but proved to be extremely worthwhile. Lewis, Clark and the rest of their crew recorded journals of their findings; in addition to setting up trade and diplomatic relations with the Indians they encountered (Bergon 1). Additionally, they were able to describe the landscape’s architecture as well as the new creatures they encountered. William Clark also drafted a series of remarkably useful maps named rivers, creeks as well as other useful spots for future expeditions.

Subsequent explorers largely relied on these maps (Ambrose 511). Additionally, the expedition is reputed as having shaped a crude route to the Pacific waters and hence marked the initial pathway for new nation to extend westwards from ocean to ocean (Allen 366). Sanctioning the exhibition has extensively shaped the way Jefferson is viewed. He not harbored expansionist policies but was also a calculating leader bent on understanding new area before fully venturing. Further, it would not be far-fetched to argue that Jefferson was keen on opening up new trade routes that would be beneficial to the nation.

Work CitedAllen, Paul, Clark, William, and Lewis, Meriwether. Meriwether Lewis and William Clarke, Volume 1. Elliott-Madison Company. 1916: 366Ambrose, Stephen. Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West. Simon and Schuster: New York, 1996: 511. Bergon, Frank. The Journals of Lewis and Clark. Penguin Classics, New York, 1989.