Westward Expansion Primary Sources

WESTWARD EXPANSION PRIMARY SOURCES

WESTWARD EXPLORERS LEWIS AND CLARK

Thomas Jeﬀerson commissioned Lewis and Clark to explore the Louisiana Territory.

The Louisiana Territory stretched from New Orleans at the mouth of the Mississippi to the present-day Idaho and as far north as Canada. Thomas Jeﬀerson wanted Lewis and Clark to ﬁnd the Northwest Passage, a continuous water route connecting the northeastern part of North America to the northwestern part of it.

A Native American, named Sacajawea, helped guide Lewis and Clark throughout their journey.

Lewis and Clark mapped the areas they visited and brought back information about the Native Americans who lived in these regions.

They provided scientiﬁc information and specimens of the plants and animals they found.

DANIEL BOONE

Daniel Boone crossed the Appalachian Mountains through the Cumberland Gap to Kentucky.

He created the Wilderness trial, which later became the ﬁrst National Road.

Boone established the ﬁrst United States settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains.

ZEBULON PIKE

Zebulon Pike located and explored the upper regions of the Mississippi River.

Pike mapped and claimed lands for the United States during the westward expansion into uncharted territories.

Pike’s Peak, in present day Colorado, is named in his honor.

The explorations of Lewis and Clark, Daniel Boone, and Zebulon Pike did NOT bring slavery to the western lands.

However, they opened these lands to further settlement which would eventually raise the issue of expanding slavery into the western territories.

All three explorers published reports which made the land they explored known to the American people.