Lewis & Clark Expedition Preparations and Biographies

_____ had been charged by the President with paving the way westward for the future expansion of the newly independent United States.

• Meriwether Lewis

• William Clark

• Thomas Jefferson

• Samuel Crompton

What trade was quite prosperous in the region that was to be explored by Lewis & Clark?

• Gold and silver exchange

• Crop production

• Fur trapping

• Cattle herding

This helped Lewis & Clark explore the western frontier without the chance of creating conflict with another country.

• The Lewis & Clark partnership

• The Louisiana Purchase

• The defeat of the British in 1812

• A secret peace deal with Native American tribes

Should the British lay formal claim to the Northwest Pacific, the newly independent United States would be hemmed in on virtually all sides by these.

• Native American tribes

• Rogue colonists

• Former Haitian slaves

• European powers

Recent British expeditions along the Pacific Coast by Captains James Cook and George Vancouver had convinced Jefferson that modern exploration was best accomplished by combining the resources and talents of both the ______ and ______ communities

• military and exploration

• military and scientific

• exploration and scientific

• Native American and colonist

Meriwether Lewis was an ardent political supporter of President Jefferson, which was a sought after quality in an Army then known for its political opposition to Jefferson.

• True

• False

Impressive qualifications aside, planning for a transcontinental expedition would prove to be a _____ task for a “mere” Captain of the First Infantry Regiment.

• daunting

• easy

• comfortable

• impossible

Before the Louisiana Purchase, what two countries, through their troops, prevented Lewis from sending out patrols in advance of the expedition to gather additional intelligence from beyond the Mississippi River.

• Great Britain and France

• Great Britain and Russia

• France and Germany

• France and Spain

Lewis could not anticipate what he might encounter once the expedition moved west of the supporting chain of American frontier forts, so he could only be sure of one thing:

• he would reach the Pacific Ocean.

• he would need 100 soldiers to reach the coast.

• there was no way he could summon help.

• he would need help from Native Americans.

Jefferson and Lewis shared the belief that a yet undiscovered water route connecting the East to the West Coast existed based on this.

• detailed Native American maps

• stories related to them by earlier pioneers

• details from captured French spies

• the symmetrical aspect of nature