Long before Thomas Jefferson had come to be the third president of the United States, he had a dream to explore the West. This dream would end up turning into one of American history's greatest adventure stories of all time. Once he became president he contemplated a project of a western expedition with his private secretary Capt. Meriwether Lewis (pbs.com). President Jefferson's purpose was to find a land route to the Pacific Ocean to strengthen the American claims to Oregon territory. He also wanted to gather information about what inhabitants the West had to offer.
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