Thomas Jefferson

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Thomas Jefferson : biography

April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826

Jefferson had sent James Monroe and Robert R. Livingston to Paris in 1802 to try to buy the city of New Orleans and adjacent coastal areas. At Jefferson’s request, Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours, a French nobleman who had close ties with both Jefferson and Napoleon, also helped negotiate the purchase with France. Napoleon offered to sell the entire Territory for a price of $15 million, which Treasury Secretary Albert Gallatin financed easily. Seizing the opportunity Jefferson acted contrary to the lack of an explicit Constitutional authority, and the Federalists criticized him for acting without that authority, but most thought that this opportunity was exceptional and could not be missed. On December 20, 1803 the French flag was lowered in New Orleans and the U.S. flag raised, symbolizing the transfer of the Louisiana territory from France to the United States.

Historians differ in their assessments as to who was the principal player in the purchase; the Jefferson biographer Peterson notes a range of opinion among those who credit Napoleon, or others who credit Jefferson, his secretary of state James Madison, and his negotiator James Monroe. Peterson agrees with Alexander Hamilton, Jefferson’s arch rival, in attributing it to "dumb luck". Joseph Ellis, another biographer of Jefferson, believes the events encompassed a variety of elements.; The historian George Herring has said that while the purchase was somewhat the result of Jefferson and Madison’s "shrewd and sometimes belligerent diplomacy", that it "is often and rightly regarded as a diplomatic windfall—the result of accident, luck, and the whim of Napoleon Bonaparte."Herring, George. From Colony to Superpower: U.S. Foreign Relations Since 1776, p98. Oxford University Press, 2008 The entire territory was not finally secured until England and Mexico gave up their claims to northern and southern portions, respectively, during the presidency of James Polk (1845-1849).

Lewis and Clark Expedition

After the purchase of the Louisiana Territory Jefferson now needed to have this mostly unknown part of the country explored and mapped. In 1804 he appointed Meriwether Lewis and William Clark as leaders of the expedition, which explored the Louisiana Territory and beyond, producing a wealth of scientific and geographical knowledge, and ultimately contributing to the European-American settlement of the West.Ambrose, 1996 p.76

Jefferson had chosen Lewis to lead the expedition rather than a someone with only the best scientific credentials because "It was impossible to find a character who to a complete science in botany, natural history, mineralogy & astronomy, joined the firmness of constitution & character, prudence, habits adapted to the woods & a familiarity with the Indian manners and character, requisite for this undertaking. All the latter qualifications Capt. Lewis has." Lewis however was not ignorant of science and he had demonstrated to Jefferson a marked capacity to learn, especially with Jefferson as his teacher. At Monticello Jefferson possessed the largest library in the world on the subject of the geography of the North American continent, and Lewis had full access to that library. He spent much time consulting maps and books and conferring with Jefferson on numerous topics. It was at this time Lewis had read Captain James Cook’s A Voyage to the Pacific Ocean (London, 1784) an account of Cook’s third voyage, and Le Page du Pratz’z The History of Louisiana …(London, 1763) , works that Jefferson had also read, which greatly influenced his decision to commission an expedition into the newly acquired territory purchased by the United States in 1803.

Knowledge of the western part of the continent had been scant and incomplete, limited to what had been learned from trappers, traders, and explorers. Lewis and Clark, for whom the expedition became known, recruited the 45 men to accompany them, and spent a winter training them near St. Louis for the effort. The expedition had several goals expected by Jefferson, including finding a "direct & practicable water communication across this continent, for the purposes of commerce" (the long-sought Northwest Passage).Woodger, Toropov, 2009 p.150 They were to follow and map the rivers, record encounters with the various Indian tribes, make sketches of various plants, birds and animals, gather samples of various rocks and minerals and record all related scientific data. The expedition reached the Pacific Ocean by November 1805. With its return in 1806, it had fulfilled Jefferson’s hopes by amassing much new data about the topographical features of the country and its natural resources, with details on the flora and fauna, as well as the many Indian tribes of the West with which he hoped to increase trading.Harry W. Fritz (2004). . Greenwood Publishing Group. p.3, 59 The duration of this perilous expedition lasted from May 1804 to September 1806.Ambrose, 1996, Chap.VI