In 1803, President Jefferson negotiated a major land transaction with the First French Republic and its First Consul, Napoleon Bonaparte. Known as the Louisiana Purchase, the land acquisition nearly doubled the territory of the United States, stretching from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains. Jefferson sent a military expedition to explore this territory and get acquainted with the natives diplomatically. But was there really an ulterior motive for the expedition that was not widely known at the time?
Geopolitical Situation in the U.S. in 1803: The Louisiana colony settled by the French in the 18th century changed hands several times before the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. The French only settled in a fraction of the territory, and the entire colony was ceded to Spain in 1762, near the end of the Seven Years War. When the war finished, Britain acquired the territory east of the Mississippi River, and Spain acquired the territory to the west of the river. New Orleans became an important seaport, and drew the interest of the fledgling United States. A treaty with Spain in 1795 permitted American merchants the right to store cargo readied for export in New Orleans. Three years later in 1798, the treaty was revoked by Spain. In 1801 the Spanish governor restored the rights, but in the meantime the entire territory was ceded back to France and Napoleon in 1800. In the U.S. there was a great concern that France would expand the Louisiana colony. Jefferson even considered an alliance with Britain, but the shaky political situation in Europe called for other actions. Jefferson decided to send Robert R. Livingston and James Monroe to Paris to purchase the Louisiana colony, and on April 3, 1803, a treaty was achieved. However, American sovereignty over the newly acquired land was not sustained until the defeat of British Forces in the Battle of New Orleans in January, 1814, that concluded the War of 1812.
The Expedition Begins in 1804: During the acquisition process, Native Americans living in the territory were never consulted about the change in sovereignty over the Great Plains area where they lived. Jefferson then decided to send Lewis and Clark and an expeditionary force of forty explorers to survey the area, with a mission to bring back as much information as possible about the land itself, and make diplomatic gestures with the natives. They were also charged with finding a suitable water route to the Pacific Ocean. Using a 55-foot keelboat they left the St. Louis area on May 14, 1804 and headed up the Missouri River.
The Mandan Settlement: By November, 1804, they had reached what today is North Dakota and Lewis decided to settle in for the winter with the friendly Mandan and Hitatsa Indians. There they met a young woman who would have a crucial impact on the success of the expedition. Sacagawea was the seventeen year old wife of Toussaint Charbonneau, a French Canadian trader who became the group’s interpreter. Sacagawea did many things for the expedition, but most importantly she acted as a liaison with other native tribes reassuring them that the explorers had come in peace. Further, she had childhood memories of the territory that would be critical in helping the expedition cross the Rockies as she was born into the Shoshone tribe that live miles to the west. When the expedition hooked up with the Shoshone, it was revealed that Sacagawea was the chief’s younger sister!
Crossing the Rocky Mountains: The group traded with the Shoshone for some horses and a guide to get them through the mountains of what is now Idaho. They struggled mightily with early snows, and nearly starved without the ample game of the plains below. After almost two weeks they stumbled into a village of Nez Perce Indians who took them in. At first the Indians thought if they were to kill explorers and confiscate their weapons, they would be the best armed tribe in the whole area. Further, the group was accompanied by a Shoshone who were their arch enemies. However, a Nez Perce woman who had been kidnapped by white men, persuaded the tribe to befriend them. Their stay with the Nez Perce, revitalized the explorers and enabled them to carry on.
The Pacific Settlement: After traveling down the Colombia River, they reached the Pacific Ocean on November 24, 1805. They then built a settlement that would be their home for the next five months. The long road back began in May, 1806, with a return visit to the Nez Perce tribe. By September 23, 1806, they returned to their starting point near St. Louis.
The Ulterior Motive: The trip was considered a success in nearly every respect except for one–there proved to be no navigable waterway across the continent to the Pacific Ocean. Had there been a navigable waterway across the continent, the U.S. would have had the advantage over Britain in gaining the China trade. That’s right, trade with China was very much on Jefferson’s mind, as he wanted to compete for it with the British. It wasn’t until December 11, 2001, or nearly 200 years later, when China joined the World Trade Organization, that the U.S. succeeded in opening up China for trade globalization. The ongoing bilateral trade between the U.S. and China amounted to about $765 billion in 2022, or about $2 billion per day.
Sources: History.com, Lewis and Clark: A Timeline of the Extraordinary Expedition, Dave Roos, January 16, 2020.
Undaunted Courage, Stephen E. Ambrose, Simon and Schuster, 1997.
Wikipedia, Meriwether Lewis.
Wikipedia, Louisiana Purchase.
Great article Dave!