The Great Unknown Purchase

No one seemed to know what this complete mystery we just bought was like! France refused to specify the southern or western boundary, leaving it to the United States to deal with Spain.  Talleyrand said, "You have made the best possible terms for yourselves and I suppose you will make the most of it."

What was known of the resources, terrain, and climate of the new purchase was as vague as the boundaries.  The few Europeans who had explored the area had only explored narrow, long pieces of land, chiefly along major rivers.  Other than that information, the United States had no idea what lay to the west.  They had borrowed a great deal of money for something they had no idea what it was!

Jefferson's answer to this problem was to enlist the explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to explore just what the United States had just purchased.  Jefferson also wanted to strengthen the US claims to Oregon Country and find a water route to the Pacific Ocean if there was one. 

Next time... the men who set out into the great unknown
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Today in Pioneer History: On December 3, 1818,  Illinois achieves full statehood. Though Illinois presented unique challenges to immigrants unaccustomed to the soil and vegetation of the area, it grew to become a bustling and densely populated state.