answersLogoWhite

0

Meriwether Lewis who had been appointed to the rank of Captain, was designated as the expedition "scientist". Prior to the expedition, Lewis went to Philadelphia for intense training by physician Benjamin Rush, astronomer-surveyor Andrew Ellicott, botanist Benjamin Barton, anatomist Casper Wister, and mathematician Robert Patterson. For three months he was tutored in the spring of 1803.

Jefferson's instruction to Lewis were:

"Beginning at the mouth of the Missouri, you will take observations of latitude and longitude at all remarkable points on the river, & especially at the mouths of rivers, at rapids, at islands & other places & objects distinguished by such natural marks & characters of a durable kind, as that they may with certainty be recognized hereafter....The variations of the compass too, in different places should be noticed."

(considering the Native Americans) "...You will therefore endeavor to make yourself acquainted, as far as diligent pursuit of your journey shall admit with the names of the nations & their numbers, the extent & limits of their possessions; their relations with other tribes or nations; their language, traditions, monuments, their ordinary occupations in agriculture, fishing, hunting, war, arts & the implements for these, their food, clothing, & domestic accommodations, the diseases prevalent among them, & the remedies they use, moral and physical circumstance which distinguish them from the tribes they know, particularities in their laws, customs & dispositions, and articles of commerce they may need or furnish & to what extent."

"Other objects worthy of notice will be the soil & face of the country, it's growth & vegetable productions, especially those not of the US; the animals of the country generally & especially those not known in the US; the remains & accounts of any which may be deemed rare or extinct; the mineral productions of every kind, but more particularly metals, limestone, pit coal & saltpetre, salines & mineral waters, noting the temperature of the last & such circumstances as may indicate their character; volcanic appearances; climate as characterized by the thermometer, by the proportion of rainy, cloudy & clear days, by lightening, hail, snow, ice, by the access & recess of frost, by the winds, prevailing at different seasons & the dates at which particular plants put forth or lose their flower or leaf, times of appearance of particular birds, reptiles or insects."

User Avatar

Wiki User

16y ago

What else can I help you with?

Related Questions

What did the United States do with the Louisiana purchase after they bought it?

The very first thing that the United States did with the Louisiana Purchase was explore it. President Thomas Jefferson sent an expedition led by Lewis and Clark in 1804.


How did Thomas Jefferson encourage the westward expansion?

Thomas Jefferson encouraged westward expansion through the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, which doubled the size of the United States. He also commissioned the Lewis and Clark expedition to explore and map the newly acquired territory. Jefferson's vision was to populate the western lands and facilitate trade and agricultural development in the region.


What were the results of the Louisiana purchase on American nationalism?

It began the expansion of the united states to encompass north america!


Was there a Louisiana treaty?

The Louisiana Purchase occurred during Thomas Jefferson's term as the United States president. Land had been bought by the United States from France. However, the United States did not know how much land it had bought. Jefferson sent an expedition to map the new territory. This was known as the Lewis and Clark expedition.


How many slave states were carved out of the Louisiana purchase?

How many states were carved out of the Louisiana Purchase? Name them


What the important of The Louisiana Purchase?

The Louisiana Purchase doubled the size of the United States.


The addition of what territory more than doubled the size of the United states?

The Louisiana Purchase


Who gained control of the Mississippi River?

The United States through the Louisiana Purchase.


How did the US grow while Jefferson was president?

During Thomas Jefferson's presidency, the United States saw significant territorial expansion. The Louisiana Purchase of 1803 doubled the size of the country, acquiring land from France. Additionally, Jefferson authorized the Lewis and Clark expedition to explore and map the newly acquired territory, which furthered knowledge and development of the western frontier. This expansion provided new opportunities for settlement, trade, and economic growth.


What was the Louisiana purchase about?

The Louisiana Purchase was about the westward expansion of the new United States. It was purchased from France in 1803 and amounted to 800,000 square miles of new land.


What current states were located in the Louisiana purchase?

okland


How did the Louisiana purchase increase the size of the us?

The Louisiana Purchase doubled the size of the United States.