While the election of 1800 was underway, France and Spain were in talks about Louisiana. Spain owned lands west of the Mississippi River, most importantly the port of New Orleans. The Americans had negotiated with the Spanish to ensure continued trade access to the major port city—access they had long enjoyed. With France now under Napoleon Bonaparte’s leadership, it appeared as if the situation, unbeknown to the Americans, was about to dramatically change.
A Near-Miss President’s Secretary
The election provided clarity in one way: John Adams would not be reelected. But that was hardly half the trouble. At the time, the Constitution required state electors to “vote by Ballot for two Persons … [and t]he Person having the greatest Number of Votes shall be the President … and if there be more than one who have such Majority, and have an equal Number of Votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately chuse by Ballot one of them for President.” It was up to the political parties to identify who would be their presidential and vice-presidential candidates, and, therefore, were supposed to ensure the vice-presidential candidate received one less vote than the presidential candidate.Thomas Jefferson and his running mate, Aaron Burr, of the newly established Democratic-Republican Party, had incidentally received an equal number of votes, tying them for first, and therefore creating a constitutional crisis. The final vote went to the House of Representatives, where a majority of its members were Federalists―Adams’s party, which made choosing between the two anti-federalists all the more difficult. The first vote was taken on Feb. 11, 1801. Six days and 35 more ballots later, the election was decided; it seems Alexander Hamilton played a large role in helping Jefferson win (Burr, therefore, became vice president, as was the original intention for the Democratic-Republican Party). Although Hamilton was no fan of Jefferson or Burr, in this case he chose and advocated for whom he deemed the lesser of two evils.
This early constitutional crisis resulted in the creation of the 12th Amendment, which requires state electors to “vote by ballot for President and Vice-President … [and] they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-President.”
Well before Jefferson became president, he had pondered what the continent looked like west of the Mississippi. So mysterious was it, that he even considered the possibility that wooly mammoths walked the lands along the Pacific. His desire to explore the vast open land led him to hire a young family friend as his personal secretary: Meriwether Lewis.
An Old Friend, a Grand Opportunity
Although Jefferson wanted Lewis to be his private secretary in order to introduce him to those who ran the country and so that he could take “advantage of their wisdom,” he also wished for someone who possessed “a knowledge of the Western country, of the army & its situation.”
Lewis had excelled in the U.S. Army and had risen to the rank of captain. During his time in the Army, he was briefly under the command of William Clark. Clark, who first served in the Kentucky militia, was commissioned as a lieutenant in 1792 by President George Washington. Clark’s skill as a leader and rifleman resulted in his command of the “Chosen Rifle Company.” The relationship between Lewis and Clark would have historical consequences.
For nearly the entire year of Jefferson’s first year as president, France denied the rumors about the Franco-Spanish treaty. It was not until Secretary of State James Madison acquired a copy of the treaty in November 1801 that the truth was fully known. Jefferson, who had supported the French Revolution and despised the British, now felt forced to adjust his geopolitical footing. Napoleon planned to reestablish the French Empire in the west, starting with Haiti’s Saint-Domingue, then New Orleans, and ultimately all of Louisiana.
A Sizeable Deal
Jefferson sent James Monroe to Paris to assist Robert Livingston, America’s minister to France, in negotiating the possible purchase of New Orleans and West Florida. The diplomats were to go no higher than $10 million. With an expeditionary conflict in Haiti that had not gone well for France and with war on the brink, the U.S. diplomats were offered more than New Orleans and West Florida. They were offered the entire Louisiana Territory―all 828,000 square miles―for a mere $15 million. Stunned by the offer, and despite only being authorized to offer $10 million, the diplomats readily agreed to the deal. It was a windfall that Jefferson, upon hearing of the final negotiations, couldn’t resist. On Oct. 20, 1803, the Senate ratified the Louisiana Purchase Treaty.
Preparing for the Great Expedition
After two years as Jefferson’s private secretary, Lewis was tabbed with leading an expedition across the new territory. This expedition team, which would be called the Corps of Discovery, was tasked with mapping the territory, establishing relations with the tribal nations, studying and collecting samples of previously unknown animals and plants, and most importantly finding a water passage that reached the Pacific Ocean. Lewis was therefore sent to Philadelphia and Lancaster to learn all these trades.Before the treaty was ratified, the expedition was being formed in earnest. Along with gathering supplies came the all-important aspect of selecting the right crew. Lewis’s first selection was his friend and former commander, William Clark. Clark would not only join the expedition, but would be his co-commander. Selecting the rest of the crew would depend on their keen eyes.
A Useful Delay
By December of 1803, Lewis, traveling by land, and Clark, traveling by river, arrived in Cahokia (today’s East St. Louis). On Dec. 7, Lewis met with John Hay, the postmaster of Cahokia, and Nicholas Jarrot, a Frenchman whom it appears fled the French Revolution and made his wealth as a land speculator in America. Hay and Jarrot were helpful in discussions with the Spanish lieutenant governor of Upper Louisiana, Carlos Dehault Delassus, who informed Lewis that his expedition could not proceed until “the King, my master” consented. Lewis agreed to wait and commanded the expedition to establish its winter quarters near the mouth of the Wood River, which happened to be located on a small portion of Jarrot’s 25,000 acres.The mouth of the Wood River was located near the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. The site they dubbed Camp Dubois would not merely be the location of the winter camp, but it would be a trial run for the entire expeditionary crew. The trial would test their capacity to build campsites, hunt, work the river vessels, and survive the harsh weather. For example, on Jan. 4, 1804, the temperature inside Clark’s hut was a frigid 20 degrees Fahrenheit; but that was still 40 degrees warmer than outside.
While winter progressed toward spring, the Spanish royal consent never arrived. It seemed to be for several reasons, but one primarily: No one―Spanish, American, or French―knew the specific boundaries of the Louisiana Territory. Despite not receiving permission, the Corps of Discovery aimed to proceed.
It was during this week in history, on May 14, 1804―220 years ago―that 45 men, led by Lewis and Clark launched the 28-month, 8,000-mile-plus journey from Camp Dubois that famously became known as the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
