Through its extensive use of primary source materials and invaluable contextual notes, this book offers a documented history of one of the most famous adventures in early American history: the Lewis and Clark expedition. This book is the first to situate the Lewis and Clark expedition within the political and scientific ambitions of Thomas Jefferson. It spans a forty-year period in American history, from 1783–1832, covering Jefferson's early interest in trying to organize an expedition to explore the American West through the difficult negotiations of the Louisiana Purchase, the formation of the "Corps of Discovery," the expedition's incredible journey into the unknown, and its aftermath. The story of the expedition is told not just through the journals and letters of Lewis and Clark, but also through the firsthand accounts of the expedition's other members, which included Sacagawea, a Native American woman, and York, an African American slave. The book features more than 100 primary source documents, including letters to and from Jefferson, Benjamin Rush, and others as the expedition was being organized; diary excerpts during the expedition; and, uniquely, letters documenting the lives of Lewis, Clark, Sacagawea, and York after the expedition.

Table of Contents:
Preface Evaluating and Interpreting Primary Documents Historical Introduction Chronology Acknowledgments Chapter 1 Thomas Jefferson and the American West 1. Letter from Thomas Jefferson to General George Rogers Clark (December 4, 1783) 2. Letter from General George Rogers Clark to Thomas Jefferson (February 8, 1784) 3. Letter from Thomas Jefferson to Marquis de Lafayette (February 9, 1786) 4. Letter from Thomas Jefferson to Richard Claiborne (August 7, 1787) 5. Letter from Thomas Jefferson to George Washington (January 22, 1793) 6. Letter from George Washington to Thomas Jefferson (January 22, 1793) 7. American Philosophical Society's Instructions to Andre Michaux (January 23, 1793) 8. Thomas Jefferson to Meriwether Lewis (February 23, 1801) 9. Letter from Thomas Jefferson to General James Wilkinson (February 23, 1801) 10. Letter from Meriwether Lewis to Thomas Jefferson (March 10, 1801) 11. Letter from Thomas Jefferson to Robert Livingston (April 18, 1802) 12. Letter from General George Rogers Clark to Thomas Jefferson (December 12, 1802) Chapter 2 Preparation for the Expedition West 13. Meriwether Lewis: Estimated Costs of Missouri River Expedition (January 1803) 14. Jefferson's Secret Message to Congress (January 18, 1803) 15. Letter from Meriwether Lewis to Thomas Jefferson (April 20, 1803) 16. Letter from Dr. Benjamin Rush to Thomas Jefferson Containing His Instructions to Meriwether Lewis (June 11, 1803) 17. Supplies Ordered by Meriwether Lewis for the Expedition (Spring 1803) 18. Letter from Thomas Jefferson to Meriwether Lewis (June 20, 1803) 19. Letter from William Clark to Meriwether Lewis (July 18, 1803) 20. Letter from Meriwether Lewis to Thomas Jefferson (July 22, 1803) 21. Gifts for the Native American Population (Spring 1803) 22. Letter from Dr. Benjamin Rush to Meriwether Lewis (May 17, 1803) 23. Letter from Meriwether Lewis to Thomas Jefferson (September 8, 1803) 24. Letter from Meriwether Lewis to Thomas Jefferson (September 13, 1803) Chapter 3 The Voyage West 25. They Proceeded On—The Journey Begins. Camp Dubois, Illinois (May 14, 1804) 26. Military Discipline—Court-Martials (May 17, 1804) 27. Meriwether Lewis Joins with Main Group. St. Charles, Missouri (May 20, 1804) 28. Leaving St. Charles, Missouri (May 21, 1804) 29. The Last Settlement. La Charrette, Missouri (May 25, 1804) 30. Organization into Three Squads (May 26, 1804) 31. Carroll County, Missouri (June 17, 1804) 32. Present-Day Atchison, Kansas (July 4, 1804) 33. Illnesses and Cures: St Joseph, Missouri (July 7, 1804) 34. Meeting the Sioux at the Kansas–Nebraska Border (July 9, 1804) 35. Nature in Nebraska (July 30, 1804) 36. Council Bluff, Iowa (August 3, 1804) 37. The Death of Sgt. Charles Floyd. Floyds Bluff, Southern Sioux City, Iowa (August 20, 1804) 38. Election. Floyds Bluff, Southern Sioux City, Iowa (August 22, 1804) 39. Nebraska–South Dakota Border (August 30, 1804) 40. South Dakota (September 11, 1804) 41. Fort Mandan, North Dakota (November 3, 1804) 42. Fort Mandan, North Dakota (November 4, 1804) 43. Fort Mandan, North Dakota (December 7, 1804) 44. Christmas Day, Fort Mandan (December 25, 1804) 45. Fort Mandan, North Dakota (February 11, 1805) 46. Letter from Meriwether Lewis to Thomas Jefferson. Fort Mandan, North Dakota (March 5, 1805) 47. Fort Mandan, North Dakota (April 3, 1805) 48. Letter from William Clark to Thomas Jefferson (April 3, 1805) 49. Letter from Meriwether Lewis to Thomas Jefferson. Fort Mandan, North Dakota (April 7, 1805) 50. The Corps Leave Fort Mandan (April 7, 1805) 51. McCone County, Montana (May 5, 1805) 52. Montana (May 19, 1805) 53. The Judith River (May 29, 1805) 54. Marias River, Montana (June 3, 1805) 55. Montana (June 29, 1805) 56. Montana (June 30, 1805) 57. The Iron Boat (July 9, 1805) 58. Three Forks River, Montana (July 28, 1805) 59. Montana (August 12, 1805) 60. Shoshone Village (August 17, 1805) 61. Near Tendoy, Idaho (August 18, 1805) 62. Bitterroot Mountains (September 16, 1805) 63. From the Journal of William Clark (September 18, 1805) 64. Clearwater County, Idaho (September 20, 1805) 65. Clearwater County, Idaho (September 26, 1805) 66. Northwest of Modern Starbuck, Washington, at Lyons Ferry State Park (October 13, 1805) 67. Estuary of the Columbia River (November 7, 1805) 68. The Vote (November 24, 1805) Chapter 4 Return Journey 69. Fort Clatsop, Astoria, Oregon (December 29, 1805) 70. Fort Clatsop, Astoria, Oregon (January 1, 1806) 71. Fort Clatsop, Astoria, Oregon (January 2, 1806) 72. Fort Clatsop (January 3, 1806) 73. Fort Clatsop, Astoria, Oregon (January 5, 1806) 74. Fort Clatsop, Astoria, Oregon (January 6, 1806) 75. Fort Clatsop, Astoria, Oregon (March 17, 1806) 76. Leaving Fort Clatsop (March 23, 1806) 77. At Modern-Day Cascades-Bonneville Dam, Columbia River, Oregon (April 11, 1806) 78. Columbia River, Benton County, Oregon (April 27, 1806) 79. Kamiah, Idaho (May 11, 1806) 80. Kamiah, Idaho (May 16, 1806) 81. Kamiah, Idaho (June 2, 1806) 82. Through Montana (July 3, 1806) 83. Logan, Montana (July 13, 1806) 84. Great Falls, Montana (July 15, 1806) 85. Pompey's Tower, Billings, Montana (July 25, 1806) 86. Marias Rover, The Great Plains (July 27, 1806) 87. Mountrail County, North Dakota (August 11, 1806) 88. The Mandan Village (August 14, 1806) 89. The Mandan Village (August 16, 1806) 90. North Dakota (August 17, 1806) 91. Letter from William Clark to Toussaint Charbonneau (August 20, 1806) 92. On the Missouri River (September 19, 1806) 93. Near Charrette Township, Missouri (September 20, 1806) 94. Letter from Meriwether Lewis to Thomas Jefferson (September 23, 1806) 95. The Last Journal Entry (September 26, 1806) 96. Kentucky (October 2, 1806) 97. From Thomas Jefferson to Meriwether Lewis (October 20, 1806) 98. Jefferson Writes to Congress about the Achievements of Lewis and Clark (December 2, 1802) 99. James Madison Appoints Frederick Bates as Secretary of Louisiana (January 31, 1807) 100. Federalist Poetry (March 1807) 101. Letter to Thomas Jefferson from Henry Dearborn (March 12, 1807) Chapter 5 The Trouble with Home 102. Patrick Gass Published His Journals (1807) 103. Letter from Frederick Bates to Richard Bates (April 15, 1809) 104. Letter from Frederick Bates to Richard Bates (July 14, 1809) 105. Letter from Thomas Jefferson to Meriwether Lewis (August 16, 1809) 106. From Meriwether Lewis to James Madison (September 16, 1809) 107. Letter from James Neely to Thomas Jefferson (October 18, 1809) 108. Letter from Richard Bates to Clement B. Penrose (October 20, 1809) 109. Letter from Frederick Bates to Richard Bates (November 9, 1809) 110. Letter from Thomas Jefferson to James Madison (November 26, 1809) 111. Letter from Thomas Jefferson to Paul Allen (August 18, 1813) 112. Letter from Thomas Jefferson to William Clark (September 8, 1816) 113. Louisiana (1814) 114. The Death of York (1832) Appendix: List of the Lewis and Clark Expedition Members Bibliography Index