Describe the Lewis and Clark Expedition. What were the problems encountered? How did Lewis and Clark prepare for it? What were the results of the Expedition?

THE LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION

The Lewis and Clark Expedition was a result of the Louisiana Purchase. Thomas Jefferson, the president of the United States in the early 1800s, bought this territory from the French in 1803. It was a huge piece of land that Jefferson wanted to get explored. Thus he planned the first exploration by the United States government of the Northwestern Wilderness. To lead this expedition into the wilderness, Jefferson appointed Meriwether Lewis, who was his personal secretary. Lewis picked William Clark as his co-leader for the expedition, which came to be known as the Lewis and Clark Expedition. This expedition lasted from May 1804 to September 1806.

Thomas Jefferson had many expectations from Lewis and Clark, which he expected to be fulfilled by the end of this expedition. The main one was to seek and pursue the shortest route from the Missouri to the Pacific Ocean.

The Lewis and Clark Expedition sights the Great Fa...

The western trail of Lewis and Clark's exploration...

English: Reconstruction of Fort Mandan, Lewis & Cl...

Other expectations included finding out the new territory's geographical features such as the type of soil, the type of weather, and the length and location of its waterways. He even wanted Lewis and Clark to find out information about the Indian tribes out in the wilderness. For the scientific part, Jefferson told them to write reports on the plant and animal life in the Louisiana Territory. For future development, they were told to look for possible sites for forts and trading posts and to find out the territory's suitability for human settlement and economic and agricultural growth. To maintain all the information they collected and the things they saw, Lewis and Clark were told to keep a journal in which everything seen should be written down, complete with sketches and detailed descriptions. These were tough requirements that were to be fulfilled and Lewis and Clark had to prepare themselves well...