Lewis and Clark Explore the Louisiana Territory

Lewis and Clark Explore the Louisiana Territory — page 1
A GROWING NATION When Thomas Jefferson became president in 1801 most Americans lived within 50 miles of the Atlantic Ocean The land west of the Mississippi River was not yet part of the United States Although American Indians had lived in the West for centuries few white Americans or Europeans had explored this part of North America Jefferson hoped to expand the United States so it would stretch from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean He seized an important opportunity to nearly double the property owned by the United States through the Louisiana Purchase In 1803 for 15 million the United States bought a vast area of land from France Even before it became part of the United States Jefferson was planning an expedition across the Louisiana Territory Thomas Jefferson 4