In Washington City, Meriwether Lewis delivers President Thomas Jefferson‘s confidential message to the U.S. Congress proposing that they fund an expedition to the Western ocean. Also on this day, Jefferson writes to the governor of Kentucky to ease his citizens’ concerns regarding the closure of the port of New Orleans.
Expedition Proposed
Confidential
Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives.
. . . . .
An intelligent officer with ten or twelve chosen men, fit for the enterprize and willing to undertake it, taken from our posts, where they may be spared without inconvenience, might explore the whole line, even to the Western ocean [and] have conferences with the natives on the subject of commercial intercourse . . . .[1]Annals of Congress of the United States, 7th Congress, 2nd Session (Washington: Gales and Seaton, 1851) 12:102–03 retrieved from … Continue reading
A Map Exhibiting All the New Discoveries In the Interior Parts of North America (1795 with 1802 additions)
Aaron Arrowsmith (1750-1823) and J. Puke
Map Division, U.S. Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2001620920/.
As stated by Jefferson in his address to Congress, very little of western geography was known before the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Even without discerning individual rivers, hachures, and labels presented on Arrowsmith’s original 49.2 x 51.5 in. (125 x 146 cm) map, one can easily compare the amount of detail between the east and western portions of what would become the United States of America.
A Voyage of Discovery
While other civilized nations have encountered great expense to enlarge the boundaries of knowledge, by undertaking voyages of discovery, & for other literary purposes, in various parts and directions, our nation seems to owe to the same object . . . .
The interests of commerce place the principal object within the constitutional powers and care of Congress, and that it should incidentally advance the geographical knowledge of our own continent can not but be an additional gratification.[2]Ibid.
The Appropriation
The appropriation of two thousand five hundred dollars ‘for the purpose of extending the external commerce of the U.S.,’ while understood and considered by the Executive as giving the legislative sanction, would cover the undertaking from notice, and prevent the obstructions which interested individuals might otherwise previously prepare in it’s way.[3]Ibid.
Easing Kentucky Concerns
The closure of New Orleans to foreign commerce threatens the livelihood of Kentucky residents who rely on the port to export their goods. Thomas Jefferson writes a letter to the state’s governor, James Garrard informing him of his plan to solve this problem:
Washington Jan. 18. 1803.
Sir
I informed you that we had reason to believe that the suspension of the right of deposit at New Orleans was an act merely of the Intendant, unauthorised by his government . . . .
I have determined, with the approbation of the Senate, to send James Monroe, late Governor of Virginia, with full powers to him & our ministers in France & Spain to enter with those governments into such arrangements as may effectually secure our rights and interest in the Missisipi . . . .
. . . . .
I inclose you a resolution of the House of Representatives on this subject, which with the measures taken by the Executive, will I hope furnish new grounds for the confidence . . . that government is equally and impartially alive to the interests of every portion of the union.
I pray you to accept assurances of my high respect & consideration.
Th: Jefferson[4]Thomas Jefferson to James Garrard, 18 January 1803, Founders Online, National Archives, founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-39-02-0301. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, vol. … Continue reading
Notes
| ↑1 | Annals of Congress of the United States, 7th Congress, 2nd Session (Washington: Gales and Seaton, 1851) 12:102–03 retrieved from https://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llac&fileName=012/llac012.db&recNum=9. |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | Ibid. |
| ↑3 | Ibid. |
| ↑4 | Thomas Jefferson to James Garrard, 18 January 1803, Founders Online, National Archives, founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-39-02-0301. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 39, 13 November 1802–3 March 1803, ed. Barbara B. Oberg. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2012, pp. 347–348.] accessed 15 May 2022. |
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The Lewis and Clark Trail Experience—our sister site at lewisandclark.travel—connects the world to people and places on the Lewis and Clark Trail.
Discover More
- The Lewis and Clark Expedition: Day by Day by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 2018). The story in prose, 14 May 1804–23 September 1806.
- The Lewis and Clark Journals: An American Epic of Discovery (abridged) by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 2003). Selected journal excerpts, 14 May 1804–23 September 1806.
- The Lewis and Clark Journals. by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 1983–2001). The complete story in 13 volumes.
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Unless otherwise noted, journal excerpts are from The Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, edited by Gary E. Moulton, 13 vols. (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1983-2001).