Mississippi River Archives - American History For Kids

Thomas Jefferson was interested in learning more about the country west of the Mississippi River. In 1803, he persuaded Congress to pay for an expedition to explore this land. In May 1804, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, both army officers, set out on their expedition. Their journey took more than two years, but paved the way for western settlement.

Fun Facts

Lewis and Clark departed from St. Louis, rowing up the Missouri River. They spent a winter in a Mandan Indian trading village. They rode horses over the Rocky Mountains through Wyoming, Idaho, and Oregon to the Pacific Ocean – a roundtrip journey of over 8,000 miles.
Jefferson asked Lewis and Clark to map the region. He hoped that they would find a river running from the Missouri to the Pacific Ocean, which people could travel on. He also asked them to study and collect natural resources, including rocks, plants, and animals. He wanted them to befriend the native tribes and learn about their languages and customs.
Lewis and Clark took six months to prepare for their journey, gathering supplies and recruiting the 31 men who would accompany them. It was hard to know exactly what to take since no one had ever explored the area before.
At the time, Europeans had only explored as far as the Missouri River. A few had also ventured along the Columbia River into what is now central Oregon. Thomas Jefferson thought Lewis and Clark might find wooly mammoths and active volcanoes. Instead, they found 300 plant and animal species unknown to science at the time; 50 Indian tribes; and the massive, rugged Rocky Mountains.
After arriving at the Pacific Ocean, Lewis and Clark built Fort Clatsop and spent the winter in present-day Oregon. They split up on their return to the East so that they could explore more land. Lewis and his men were attacked by Blackfoot Indians trying to steal from them. Two Indians were killed. Lewis was later shot in the leg by one of his own men.
The group were given a hero’s welcome when they returned to Washington D.C. Lewis was given 1,600 acres of land, a generous salary, and the role of governor of the Louisiana Territory.

Vocabulary

Recruit: seek out, enlist
Venture: explore

Questions and Answers

Question: Did any women join the expedition?

Answer: Sacagawea, a Shoshone Indian was the only woman to go on the expedition. She played a vital role in finding food, navigating rough terrain, and negotiating with the native tribes.

Learn More

Visit Scholastic to play an interactive game and pretend you’re on the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

Thomas Jefferson believed that a strong, free nation could only be maintained by strong, free people. For centuries in Europe, most people had belonged to a class system. Peasants worked on farms or in factories for a few people who owned most of the land and wealth. Peasants had little hope of changing their situation and were dependent on the wealthy for their survival.

Jefferson believed that by expanding the country, more people could own farms and lands, allowing even the poorest to improve their circumstances through hard work. He was very anxious to expand the United States to include more area.

Fun Facts

Kentucky became a state in 1792; Tennessee, in 1796. Ohio became a state in 1803.
French emperor, Napoleon, wanted to build an empire in North America starting with a naval base on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea. Toussaint Louverture led an army of free blacks and slaves against Napoleon. This revolution discouraged Napoleon from his original plans.
In 1803, Thomas Jefferson and the Senate approved a plan to buy the Louisiana Territory for $15 million from France. The purchase doubled the United States’ land area, adding about 800,000 square miles of land. More importantly, it guaranteed control of the Mississippi River to the U.S., which Thomas Jefferson believed was necessary for the country’s security. This became known as the Louisiana Purchase.
As the country expanded, farmers needed a way to get their crops to the east to sell. The fastest way to ship their goods was to float them down the Mississippi River on barges to New Orleans. From there, they could be shipped to the east or even across the Atlantic Ocean to Europe.

Vocabulary

Peasant: a poor farmer or laborer of a low social class
Expand: to enlarge
Security: safety

Question and Answer

Question: How many people lived in the Louisiana Territory when it was purchased by the U.S.?

Answer: About 200,000 people were living in the Louisiana Territory at the time of the purchase. Most of them were American Indians, Spanish, and French.

Learn More

Visit Discover Kids to learn more about the Louisiana Purchase.

Tag Archives: Mississippi River

The Lewis and Clark Expedition

Thomas Jefferson and New Lands

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