Lewis & Clark: The Corps Sets Off (Part One)

For the thirty-ninth installment of “50 Weeks That Shaped America” we go to the spring of 1804, when Meriwether Lewis and William Clark are tapped by Thomas Jefferson to lead an expedition into the northwest territories to map a route to the Pacific Ocean. We discuss why the Louisiana Purchase made mapping this territory a priority, how the two put together their group, and how hard the journey was, despite having a very cute canine companion. Join our America250 newsletter community ! Subscribe for free to get the latest news and analysis of how America250 is playing out. Paying subscribers get access to early, ad-free versions of the show. Plus bonus features throughout the year. To support our work and get access to everything, subscribe now . This Day is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Your support helps foster independent, artist-owned podcasts and award-winning stories. If you want to support the show directly, you can do so on our website: ThisDayPod.com Get in touch if you have any ideas for future topics, or just want to say hello. Follow us on social @thisdaypod Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices