Encyclopedia
Fry-Jefferson Map of Virginia
The Fry-Jefferson Map of 1751 by Col. Joshua Fry and Peter Jefferson greatly influenced Thomas Jefferson's interest in exploration and the American West.
Exploration
As president, Thomas Jefferson commissioned the Lewis and Clark Expedition to explore the newly purchased Louisiana Territory. He was a strong supporter of westward expansion and sponsored many expeditions to map the western parts of North America.
“ The object of your mission...”
Early Explorers
“ Your proposition respecting a tour to the west and North west of the Continent would be Extremely agreable to me ...”
In 1783, Elizabeth House Trist journeyed down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers hoping to reunite with her husband in Natchez. Trist's travel diary, created at the request of Thomas Jefferson, is the earliest known record of a Mississippi River expedition by a woman.
Lewis & Clark
“ ...of courage undaunted, possessing a firmness & perseverance of purpose which nothing but impossibilities could divert from it’s direction..”
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![An image of the first page of Thomas Jefferson's January 18, 1803 letter to Congress proposing funding of what became the Lewis and Clark Expedition.]()
EncyclopediaPolitical Origins of the Lewis and Clark Expedition
Jefferson organized the Lewis and Clark Expedition during his 1st term as president of the U.S., but it wasn't his first attempt to explore the American West
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![Modern-day painting of the Lewis and Clark Expedition on horseback moving along a stream in snowy mountain landscape with Sacagawea riding near the front with her baby tucked into her clothing.]()
PageThe Lewis and Clark Expedition
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![A bust-length portrait of Meriwether Lewis in his early 30s with short light-brown hair in a dark, high-collared coat and white neckerchief facing slightly to his right.]()
PageMeriwether Lewis, The President's Secretary
Find out why President Thomas Jefferson chose Meriwether Lewis first as his personal secretary and then as the leader of the Corps of Discovery's expedition to the Pacific Ocean.
Pike, Dunbar & Hunter, Freeman & Custis
Not only Lewis & Clark, but Zebulon Pike, Dunbar & Hunter, and Freeman & Custis all explored the Louisiana Territory for Jefferson.
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![Portrait of Zebulon Pike by Charles Willson Peale, 1808.]()
Zebulon Pike
Zebulon Pike was a soldier who made two expeditions to explore the Louisiana Territory.
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![Map of the 1806 Red River Expedition's route. Published by Nich. King, 1806.]()
EncyclopediaRed River Expedition
The Red River Expedition (Freeman-Custis Expedition) was among several explorations of the American West supported by President Jefferson.
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![Bust-length painting of William Dunbar.]()
William Dunbar
A Scottish-born American scientist and explorer who assisted President Jefferson in planning expeditions into the Louisiana Territory, including the Dunbar-Hunter Expedition.
The Shop at Monticello
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