Lewis and Clark expedition

Cultural  

1. A journey made by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, during the presidency of Thomas Jefferson, to explore the American Northwest, newly purchased from France, and some territories beyond. The expedition started from St. Louis, Missouri, and moved up the Missouri River and down the Columbia River to the Pacific Ocean. The information that Lewis and Clark gathered was of great help in the settlement of the West. (See also Louisiana Purchase.)

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Example Sentences

More than 220 years later, the Lewis and Clark expedition still intrigues.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026

In 1809, just over three years after the famous Lewis and Clark expedition ended, Meriwether Lewis was found dead in a Tennessee inn, an apparent suicide; he was 35.

From Washington Times • Oct. 11, 2020

With his commission of the Lewis and Clark expedition and his control of governments in the newly acquired inland empire, Jefferson, once a fervent exponent of limited government, substantially expanded presidential power.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 26, 2019

Their meat fed Native Americans, the starving settlers of Jamestown and the Lewis and Clark expedition.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 9, 2019

“A black person was part of the Lewis and Clark expedition? Really?”

From "Piecing Me Together" by Renée Watson