Meriwether Lewis and William Clark and the Corps of Discovery crossed the North American continent from 1804 to 1806, traveling from St. Louis, Missouri to the Pacific Ocean and back.
The explorers kept journals and drew maps during their voyage, and their observations greatly increased the available information about the North American continent. Before they crossed the continent there were theories about what lay in the West, and most of them made little sense. Even the president at the time, Thomas Jefferson, was inclined to believe some fanciful legends about the mysterious regions no white Americans had seen.
The journey of the Corps of Discovery was a carefully planned venture of the United States government, and it was not conducted simply for adventure. So why did Lewis and Clark make their epic journey?
