In 1803, Thomas Jefferson chose Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to lead an expedition to explore the Louisiana Purchase and the people in that region. They exchanged their stories and pictures of their encounters with citizens and the government. This exchange of information led to the westward expansion of the U.S.
"Your situation as Secretary of the President of the United States has made you acquainted with the objects of my confidential message of Jan. 18, 1803, to the legislature. You have seen the act they passed, which, tho' expressed in general terms, was meant to sanction those objects, and you are appointed to carry them into execution." |