Three Parts of Westward Expansion
In 1803, the United States made the Louisiana Purchase with France. The agreement added about 828,000 square miles to the country. The land stretched from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains and from the Gulf of Mexico toward Canada. Native nations already lived on and cared for these lands. The purchase was an agreement between the United States and France; it did not mean the land was empty.
President Thomas Jefferson wanted more information about the new territory. In 1804, he sent Meriwether Lewis and William Clark with a group of travelers to explore the western lands and find a practical route to the Pacific Ocean. The expedition recorded plants, animals, rivers, and landforms. It met Native nations, including Mandan and Hidatsa communities near the upper Missouri River. These communities shared knowledge and supplies at times, while the expedition also carried trade goods and gifts. Sacagawea, a Lemhi Shoshone woman, traveled with the group and helped with communication and knowledge of the land.
The expedition returned in 1806, but exploration did not end westward movement. Over the next decades, many families and other travelers went west on overland trails such as the Oregon, California, and Santa Fe Trails. They traveled in wagons, on horseback, or on foot. A journey could take weeks or months. Travelers had to plan food, tools, clothing, animals, and medicines because stores were far apart. Rivers, mountains, weather, illness, and broken equipment could slow a wagon train.
Westward expansion brought new opportunities to some people, but it also brought pressure and unfair treatment to Native nations whose homelands were entered or claimed by the United States. Agreements were sometimes made, yet settlers and the government often failed to honor them. The purchase, the expedition, and the trails were connected, but they were different events that happened over many years and affected different groups in different ways.