Jefferson’s Lewis and Clark expedition joined the centuries-long hunt for Northwest Passage

Jefferson sent Lewis and Clark to map, trade, and secure the West

Beyond seeking a water route to the Pacific, Jefferson tasked the Corps of Discovery with mapping the new Louisiana Territory, cataloging its resources, and establishing trade with Native nations.

Lewis and Clark’s journey became a blueprint for future exploration

Combining science, diplomacy, and logistics, the Corps of Discovery created a model for later expeditions—from charting the Arctic to NASA’s space missions.

Jefferson omitted a plan to go beyond the Louisiana Territory in his funding request

In January of 1803, the president sought $2,500 to fund the expedition (though it likely cost closer to $50,000). The ostensible rationale for the journey was to explore the newly purchased territory, but Jefferson did not mention he wanted Lewis and Clark to go beyond the newly acquired territory for several reasons.

The Lewis and Clark expedition lasted over two years

The Corps of Discovery departed St. Louis in May 1804 and returned in September 1806, covering more than 8,000 miles by boat, horseback, and on foot. See a timeline of the journey’s key events.

Explore Lewis and Clark’s 8,000-mile journey in Google Earth

Follow the Corps of Discovery’s full route from St. Louis to the Pacific and back on Google Earth. Explore key camps, Native encounters, and natural landmarks through satellite imagery and on-the-ground photos.

Jefferson feared European control in the West of North America

Jefferson pushed for the Louisiana Purchase to prevent France or Spain from dominating the western frontier, securing control of the Mississippi River and vast lands that he felt were essential to America’s strategic and economic future.

Meriwether Lewis grew up in the same neighborhood as Jefferson

Hailing from Jefferson’s Albemarle County neighborhood in Virginia, Lewis was a trusted aide and former Army officer. After leading the Corps of Discovery, he became Louisiana Territory governor in 1806, dying three years later under mysterious circumstances.

Lewis and Clark encountered more than 70 Native tribes during their journey

The Corps of Discovery’s diplomacy ranged from peaceful trade and vital aid from tribes like the Shoshone and Nez Perce to tense standoffs, most notably with the Teton Sioux, who nearly brought the expedition to a halt.

The expedition produced the first detailed climate records of the West

Lewis and Clark logged daily temperature, weather, and seasonal patterns throughout their journey, creating the earliest systematic meteorological record for the western territories of the United States. Their observations helped overturn longstanding views that weather west of the Appalachians was similar to the East Coast.

Native voices share their histories along the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail

Tribal historians recount their peoples' histories and perspectives on the Lewis and Clark expedition, offering an Indigenous narrative of the lands, encounters, and legacies that shaped the journey.

Thomas Jefferson dismissed the Erie Canal as 'little short of madness'

When first proposed, President Jefferson scoffed at the idea of carving a 363-mile waterway through wilderness and rock. With no precedent in American engineering, the canal seemed impossible.

A free archive of firsthand historical documents from explorers of America

Maintained by the Wisconsin Historical Society, the American Journeys collection contains more than 18,000 pages of primary source documents—journals, letters, maps, and accounts written between roughly 1000 CE and the early 1800s. These include eyewitness records of the Norse arrival in North America, Spanish conquistador expeditions, and the Lewis and Clark journey. Browse this list of highlights where pages from the original texts are specified (clicking a link opens a PDF).

Lewis brought his loyal Newfoundland dog on the expedition

Meriwether Lewis was accompanied by his dog, Seaman, a Newfoundland who traveled the entire journey—helping hunt, guarding camp, and even rescuing supplies from a river.

Learn about the extraordinary life of Sacagawea’s son, Jean Baptiste

Born during the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Jean Baptiste Charbonneau (nicknamed "Pomp") traveled to Europe at 18 with Duke Paul of Württemberg, spending six years in his court—gaining a classical education and fluency in multiple languages.

The Elizabethan pirate hired to find the Northwest Passage

This resource by the Canadian Museum of Natural History explores the life and adventures of Martin Frobisher, an Elizabethan pirate hired to find the then-fabled Northwest Passage, a path across the Arctic Sea that would've allowed for quicker trade between Asia and Eastern Europe. He ventured into arctic waters at least three times, returning to England each time with either fool's gold, captive natives, or fool's gold and captive natives.

Mapping the route options between the Pacific and Atlantic

This map shows some of the alternative trade route options that are available to shipping companies, from overland routes that rely on railways to transport goods coast-to-coast, to Arctic Ocean passages.

The Barbary Wars were an early test of whether a president could wage war without a formal declaration from Congress

Jefferson sent naval forces against North African pirates without a congressional declaration of war, acting under his own authority. Years later, Madison took the opposite approach and formally sought congressional authorization.

The missing continent that took 375 years to find

It took scientists 375 years to discover the eighth continent of the world, which had been hiding in plain sight all along. But mysteries still remain.

250 years of world trade history

Adam Smith’s revolutionary ideas about free trade were often ignored throughout American history to protect domestic industry—until World War II caused a shift in sentiment about global trade.

Abigail Adams sailed to Europe to join John during his diplomatic posting in Paris in 1784

This podcast chronicles Abigail's voyage across the Atlantic to join John in Paris during his diplomatic service, then follows the couple's return to America and their rise to the White House.

'The Republic of Letters' was an analog internet for the Enlightenment.

The virtual intellectual society exchanged tens of thousands of letters and spanned several continents. Some of its most avid correspondents were Voltaire, Benjamin Franklin, and Saint Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits.

For centuries, European aristocrats made travel a rite of passage

Starting in the 16th century, young English aristocrats mounted “Grand Tours” of Europe. Accompanying tutors provided lessons in the continent’s architecture, art, history, and literature. A Grand Tour wasn’t just for classical education, though; it was also an opportunity for young men to indulge in vices away from their parents.

The Silk Road was an ancient series of trade routes between East Asia and Europe

Founded by the Han Chinese in 130 BCE, the Silk Road was a series of trade routes connecting eastern China with the Mediterranean and the rest of Europe. The Persians created a predecessor series of routes, but the Chinese solidified the Silk Road, where travelers traded commerce, ideas, and more.

Gibbons v. Ogden expanded federal power over interstate commerce

In 1824, the Supreme Court unanimously invalidated a New York steamboat monopoly, ruling that navigation between states constitutes interstate commerce. Chief Justice John Marshall held that Congress has authority over such commerce and that conflicting state laws are void under the supremacy clause.

A $50 bet led to the first coast-to-coast road trip

In 1903, Dr. Horatio Jackson took a $50 wager that he could drive from San Francisco to New York. Soon after, Jackson and his mechanic set out on the cross-country voyage without a map. They arrived in New York 63 days later. The trip cost them $260K in today’s money.

The rivalry between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson centered on federalism—the question of how much power the federal government should hold relative to the states.

'Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone,' a work by American painter Thomas Moran, inspired Congress to establish Yellowstone National Park.

Stanford built a Google Maps for the Roman Empire, revealing how much it cost to travel in the ancient world

During the French Revolution, a botanist's letter asking about "dear Rhus" (poison ivy) was intercepted, leading authorities to suspect he was conspiring with the Russians.

Track the location of the Voyager probes, currently between 13 and 15 billion miles away from Earth.

In 2018, 26-year-old missionary John Allen Chau was killed by tribesmen after attempting to reach and evangelize on India's isolated North Sentinel Island

Explore an interactive map of battles from the American Revolution, along with detailed summaries of each engagement

Search a massive database of over 4 decades of clues from the TV quiz show 'Jeopardy!'

Many legends about George Washington, including his supposed wooden teeth and the story of cutting down the cherry tree, lack evidence.

When a Paris department store hesitated to sell Estée Lauder's perfume, she 'accidentally' broke a bottle, causing the smell to spread throughout the store and shoppers to start asking to buy the scent.

Hear about the 250-year history of the United States Postal Service, complete with some of its strangest deliveries, important innovations, and the figures that made it an American institution.

Volcanic activity may have triggered the Black Death by spewing gases that led to crop failures in Europe, thus forcing the import of grain ships with plague-infested fleas.

Before humans, the Soviet Union and the United States sent animals—including apes, dogs, and cats—to space during the Space Race.

Jimmy Carter signed a 1978 bill that legalized home brewing, a move credited with kick-starting the craft beer industry.

Explore the animals that populate the depths of the ocean, from fish and coral in the first few hundred feet, all the way down to the bottom of the Mariana Trench.

While El Niño moves warm Pacific Ocean waters east along the equator, La Niña moves them west, shifting where rainfall will become more common for months.

Learn more about the history of fireworks, which dates back to an accidental invention during an alchemist's quest for information about immortality.

Venture capital is a form of funding provided to early-stage companies with high growth potential, typically in exchange for an equity (or ownership) stake

The word 'jazz' evolved from 'jasm,' 19th-century American slang for 'energy'

Legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed the SC Johnson headquarters in Wisconsin, aiming to make a cathedral-like workplace

Explore a list of the 100 best novels of all time, compiled by some of the world's best living writers, including Salman Rushdie, Stephen King, and Jennifer Egan.

In 1945, Surrealist artist Salvador Dalí and legendary animator Walt Disney began collaborating on a short film that was not completed until 2003, years after both men had died.

The American Society of Civil Engineers' infrastructure report card gave the US a C in 2025, its highest grade since the project launched in 1998.

For centuries, it was common to sleep in two shifts: a few hours at the beginning of the night, and a longer period beginning around midnight