USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Acquisition of Louisiana was a long-term goal of President Thomas Jefferson, who was especially eager to gain control of the crucial Mississippi River port of New Orleans.

Detailed explanation-2: -In 1803 President Thomas Jefferson guided a splendid piece of foreign diplomacy through the U.S. Senate: the purchase of Louisiana territory from France.

Detailed explanation-3: -President Jefferson’s choice to lead an expedition was Captain Meriwether Lewis, his former secretary. In the spring of 1803, Lewis traveled to Philadelphia to buy equipment and to build on his military training by studying with the leading scientists of the day.