Meriwether Lewis Research Paper

521 Words2 Pages

In 1801 President Thomas Jefferson asked Meriwether Lewis to act as his private secretary. Meriwether Lewis was a skilled frontiersman and an amateur scientist. Around 1804 Thomas Jefferson made Meriwether Lewis another offer, he asked him if he would led an expedition into the lands west of the Mississippi. Lewis asked one of his closet friend, William Clark, if he would join Lewis in this expedition; William Clark agreed to be his co-captain. Meriwether Lewis was an extraordinary man for the things he's accomplished as a frontiersman, amateur scientist, an intellectual and a explorer. Meriwether Lewis was born August 18, 1774 in Virginia. His father had died in 1779 due to pneumonia and his mother remarried Captain John Marks in May of 1780. John Marks moved the family to Georgia. It was there that Meriwether Lewis enhanced his skill as a hunter and outdoorsman when he was only 8 years old. He would venture out in in the middle of the night with only his dogs to go hunting. It was there in Georgia that his mother taught him how to gather wild herbs for medical purposes. Meriwether Lewis returned to Virginia when he was around the age of …show more content…

Dozens of men including William Clark's slave, York, came along for the expedition. It was a long and hard journey that tested the men with strength, and behaviors. The men's strength was tested when they had to pull the boat up the Mississippi since the waves were being pushed towards them. Their behaviors were tested when the had to act friendly to the Indians even though they were told they were savages. The expedition lasted until 1806 when the explorers reached home. This expedition was crucial in the expansion of westward United States because it documented the animals that they encountered, the geography of the Westland, natural resources, and finally, it established good relations with Native American

More about Meriwether Lewis Research Paper

Open Document