When Thomas Jefferson took office as the third President of the United States in 1801, much of the land between the Mississippi River and the Pacific Ocean was unknown territory belonging to France or Spain. By the time Rutherford B. Hayes left office as the 19th President in 1881, this land was not only part of the United States, but it had been explored, surveyed, mapped, photographed, and was rapidly being settled. Exploring the American West, 1803-1879, is the story of how and why all of this came about.

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