182 Chapter 6 Jeffersonian Democracy
believed that his honor was at stake. The two met
with pistols on July 11, 1804, at Weehawken, New
Jersey, across the Hudson from New York City.
Hamilton made no effort to hit the challenger, but
Burr took careful aim. Hamilton fell, wounded; he
died the next day. Thus a great, if enigmatic, man
was cut off in his prime. His work, in a sense, had
been completed, and his philosophy of government
was being everywhere rejected, yet the nation’s loss
was large.
Lewis and Clark
While the disgruntled Federalists dreamed of seces-
sion, Jefferson was planning the exploration of
Louisiana and the region beyond. He especially
hoped to find a water route to connect the upper
Mississippi or its tributaries with the Pacific Ocean.
Early in 1803 he got $2,500 from Congress and
obtained the permission of the French to send his
exploring party across Louisiana. To command the
expedition he appointed his private secretary,
Meriwether Lewis, a young Virginian who had seen
considerable service with the army in the West and
who possessed, according to Jefferson, “a great
mass of accurate information on all the subjects of
nature.” Lewis chose as his companion officer
William Clark, another soldier (he had served with
General Anthony Wayne at the Battle of Fallen
Timbers) who had much experience in negotiating
with Indians.
Jefferson, whose interest in the West was scientific
as well as political, issued precise instructions to Lewis:Other objects worthy of notice will be, the soil and
face of the country... the remains and accounts of
any animals which may be deemed, or are extinct;
the mineral productions of every kind... climate,
as characterized by the thermometer, by the pro-
portion of rainy, cloudy, and clear days, by light-
ning, hail, snow, ice, by the access and recess of
frost, by the winds prevailing at different seasons,
the dates at which particular plants put forth or lose
their flower or leaf, times of appearance of particu-
lar birds, reptiles or insects...Scientific matters were inextricably intertwined
with practical ones, such as the fur trade, for in his
nature studies Jefferson concentrated on “useful”
plants and animals. He was haunted by imperialistic
visions of an expanding America that were not
unlike those of Hamilton. After the consummation
of the Louisiana Purchase, he instructed Lewis to
try to establish official relations with the Indians in
the Spanish territories beyond. Lewis should assure
the tribes that “they will find in us faithful friends
and protectors,” Jefferson said. That the expedition
would be moving across Spanish territory need not
concern the travelers because of “the expiring state
of Spain’s interests there.”
An account of their expedition from 1804 to
1806 appears in Mapping the Past, pages 184–185.
The country greeted the news of the explorers’ return
to St. Louis with delight. Besides
locating several passes across the
Rockies, Lewis and Clark had
established friendly relations with a
great many Indian tribes to whom
they presented gifts, medals,
American flags, and a sales talk
designed to promote peace and the
fur trade. They brought back a
wealth of data about the country
and its resources. The journals kept
by members of the group were
published and, along with their
accurate maps, became major
sources for scientists, students, and
future explorers. To Jefferson’s
great personal satisfaction, Lewis
provided him with many specimens
of the local wildlife, including two
grizzly bear cubs that he kept for a
time in a stone pit in the White
House lawn.
The success of the Lewis and
Clark expeditiondid not open theThe “Flat Head” (Chinook) Indians acquired their name through shaping in infancy, as shown in a
diagram from the Lewis and Clark journals. More remarkable to the explorers than the shape of the
Indians’ heads was the tribeswomen’s open sexuality. “The young females are fond of the attention
of our men and appear to meet the sincere approbation of their friends and connections for thus
obtaining their favors,” Captain Clark confided in his diary.