CHAPTER 1 HISTORY AND LOCATION This is the Gateway Arch in St Louis Missouri It is sometimes called the Gateway to the West Why France once owned the land west of the Mississippi River U S President Thomas Jefferson bought it in 1803 This was the Louisiana Purchase
Jefferson sent Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to explore the land They traveled along the Missouri River They met Sacagawea in North Dakota She was part of the Shoshone tribe She helped guide them
