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What was the goal of the Lewis and Clark expedition?

The Lewis and Clark expedition, which began in 1804 and took more than two years to complete, had three purposes: to map a route that would be part of a passage between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans; to trace the boundaries of the Louisiana Purchase; and to claim the Oregon territory for the United States. President Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) commissioned the expedition, which was officially called the Corps of Discovery and was headed by army officers Meriwether Lewis (1774–1809) and William Clark (1770–1838).

Jefferson believed that the nation that controlled a waterway between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans would dominate North America. He also predicted that the West would prove to be fertile land for American farmers and wanted to open up routes for settlement. In 1803 the United States bought a vast area (800,000 square miles) west of the...

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