306 The Lewis and Clark Expedition: A Most Excellent Adventure
History | This program is completed
In the spring of 1803, President Thomas Jefferson set in motion an expedition to explore a portion of the recently acquired Louisiana Purchase, 530 million acres that stretched from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains. It was a region that was virtually unknown to anyone other than the thousands of Native Americans who lived there, but for Jefferson and the young United States government, it was a region with unlimited potential and promise. One year later, under the command of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, 45 hand-picked men set off on an epic journey that crossed the Rocky Mountains and continued to the Pacific Ocean. When they returned almost two and a half years later, they had established relations with dozens of Native American nations, encountered new species of plants and animals, and brought back a wealth of scientific knowledge. This course will look at the preparation, planning, and impact of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, a remarkable adventure that fired the imagination of a young nation and is still regarded as one of the most ambitious and successful government expeditions ever attempted.
- Please note: The last class session only, March 12, will be located in room A-111 (City Room) in the Coffey-McNally building.
Michael Toomey
Michael Toomey graduated from the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga in 1980. He moved to Knoxville in 1981 and completed his doctoral degree in U.S. history at the University of Tennessee in 1991. He is Professor Emeritus at Lincoln Memorial University, where he was a professor of history and assistant dean of the Paul V. Hamilton School of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences. He worked previously at Knoxville College, the East Tennessee Historical Society, and as the managing editor of The Journal of East Tennessee History. Toomey has taught several history classes for ORICL, including The Lewis & Clark Expedition, The Legacy of George Armstrong Custer, The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, Controversial Presidential Elections in U.S. History, and the Scopes Trial.