Thomas Jefferson And The American West - 1772 Words

Even as a young boy in the Virginia frontier, exploration and the pursuit of knowledge captivated the imagination of Thomas Jefferson. His father, an experienced cartographer and explorer, is often cited as the inspiration for Jefferson’s fixation on the West. As he grew older, Jefferson realized that the American West was not an empty wilderness, but a land crowded by conflicting nations and claims of sovereignty that only a few fur traders had experienced. Once Jefferson acquired the Louisiana territory from Napoleon in 1803, he sent an expedition led by two of his colleagues, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, with the mission of quenching his thirst for knowledge. The official goal of the expedition was to explore the newly purchased territory, but Jefferson had other goals as well. He asked Lewis and Clark to take careful observations of the natural resources and geography of the West to see what economic possibilities existed in the area. Jefferson realized that the Natives Americans in the area needed to be informed about the purchase and that the United States would be a larger presence than before. He sent the expedition to establish good relations with the various tribes. They had a planned speech for each tribe and gave medals to all of the chiefs to signal the goodwill of the Americans. An added bonus to the new friendships between Americans and Indian tribes is less trade for the French and British, who, up until now dominated the trade in the Great Plains.Show MoreRelatedThomas Jefferson And The Declaration Of Independence1360 Words   |  6 PagesThomas Jefferson was a man who was born on April 13, 1743, he the third president of United States, author of the Declaration of Independence, a lawyer gentlemen farmer, he also was the father of the University of Virginia. 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Ambrose’s Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Undaunted Courage is a very detailed account of what Ambrose considers the most important expedition in American history, Lewis and Clark’s exploration of the west. Ambrose attempts to project Thomas Jefferson’s vision of a country that stretches from sea to shining sea, of an open road to the west, of an â€Å"Empire of Liberty†. Ambrose repeatedly shows how importantRead MoreEssay about Biography of President Thomas Jefferson1502 Words   |  7 PagesThomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States is one of the more lauded, revered, criticized, and respected presidents of all time. In fact, he’s better to be seen as two people: a quiet and secluded philosopher, and an informal, public and loud president; it just so happens that these conflicting personalities found their home inside of Thomas Jefferson. 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