Lewis and Clark failed at their main goal which was to find an all water route to the Pacific Ocean.
Map of where Lewis and Clark went
- On June 20th, 1803, Jefferson sent Lewis a letter telling him what he expected Lewis to do on the expedition. This letter stated that Jefferson wanted Lewis and Clark to find “the most practical water communication across this continent” (Jefferson).
- Jefferson thought that whoever controlled this river across the continent would become very wealthy because they would control trade and transportation on North America (Ronda).
- Lewis and Clark did not find this water passage across the continent.
- They followed the Missouri River and other rivers to the continental divide where they found a huge mountain range but not any other rivers that would take them directly to the Pacific Ocean (Burns).
- Even though they did not find a water passage across the continent, they did make several maps of the land which Americans could use and learn from.