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Jefferson's famous quote found in letter to Dunbar
 From the nation's capital in Washington on May 25, 1804, President Thomas Jefferson, in a letter to William Dunbar of Natchez, wrote one of his most famous lines on the fruits of exploration following the Ouachita River Expedition:
"We shall delineate with correctness the great arteries of this great country: those who come after us will extend the ramifications as they become acquainted with them, and fill up the canvas we begin."
The sentence has been quoted by countless historians in countless books and framed the nation's belief in Manifest Destiny -- that the U.S. was destined to expand its territory westward to the Pacific.
Jefferson and Congress authorized four explorations of the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, including one of the Ouachita River which was led by Dunbar and Dr. George Hunter of Philadelphia. Originally, the President wanted Dunbar to help him find qualified men to explore the Arkansas River to its headwaters, but after the Osage, embroiled in a bloody division within its ranks, opposed an American expedition up the river, the Red was chosen. But that expedition was opposed by the Spanish.
On the recommendation of Dunbar, writing from his home at the Forest Plantation five miles east of the Mississippi, the Ouachita was settled on and Dunbar, unable to find a capable explorer, volunteered his services. Jefferson named Hunter -- a Philadelphia chemist and land speculator -- to co-lead the venture.
Dunbar's report on the journey was the first to arrive in the President's hands. It was widely distributed in newspapers. Americans, fascinated by stories of the frontier and the west and the Indians who lived there, read every word. Dunbar and Hunter were soon household names before being overshadowed when reports of the Lewis & Clark expedition began to arrived in the nation's capital months later.
A Founding Father and the principle writer of the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson was then at the height of his political and creative life. Of commanding size, he stood 6 feet, 2 inches tall, had extraordinarily long legs, red hair in his youth that turned sandy as he aged, and hazel eyes. He would live into his mid-80s and his grandson would recall that Jefferson never lost a tooth and was a picture of strength until his last days.
The President and Dunbar would share their thoughts on many topics: Science, rainbows, Indian sign language, agriculture and, of course, the Ouachita River. At the same time, Jefferson was corresponding on a daily basis with many others. It is estimated that during his lifetime he wrote a minimum of 18,000 letters and received at least 25,000. He received so many that in his later years he complained that most of his time was spent at his writing table.For the full story, subscribe to the The Concordia Sentinel's NEW E-Edition! |
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