Meriwether Lewis, born on August 18, 1774, was the designated explorer of the expedition through the Louisiana territory to the Pacific Ocean with his partner, William Clark. This expedition was designated for Lewis and Clark to see what they could discover in the unknown land and report back to President Thomas Jefferson. During this journey, they discovered various animals, rivers, mountains, and many more landmarks. This expedition started on May 14, 1804 and ended on September 23, 1806. After Lewis came back from his voyage, he was highly regarded by the people because of success of the expedition that he was appointed the governor of the Louisiana territory. But of course with all of this success came hardship, jealousy, rivalry, and …show more content…
According to the article, “Was Governor Lewis Really Buried Where Neely said He Was?” the text states that it seems to be more probable that he died by the hands of an assassin. In addition, it states that almost nothing is known of Lewis’ final resting place. This implies that he was killed and that they did not want anyone to find out any inside details or true information about the event. They also could’ve kept the death of Lewis a secret until they were able to bury him and so one would be able to conduct any extra research to develop the autopsy. The source “Physical Evidence Exhibits 1-3” reveals that he was found on the bed, still alive according to the servants’ accounts. It was also revealed that he preferred to sleep on the floor, so why would he conveniently decide to sleep on his bed the day that he died? Also, if the servants had found him after the two gun shots went off, considering the positioning and severity of the gun shots, how would he still be alive? Based on the physical evidence that was presented, the most reasonable theory is that he was …show more content…
Lewis was shot on his head and in his chest. As it was previously stated, physical evidence supports that servants found Lewis alive and lying on the bed, but he preferred to sleep on the floor, so it seems suspicious and peculiar that he would try to commit suicide on the bed when he was more comfortable on the floor. Due to the gun he used, it isn’t tenable to believe that he could’ve taken the gun, shoot himself once in the head, then reload the gun and then shoot himself again in the chest. In addition, the source “Captain Gilbert Russell Gives New Information about the Death of Governor Lewis” the source states that he was carrying important papers for the government which implies that he was on a mission. So it also isn’t reasonable to believe that he would commit suicide in the middle of a mission. According to the Decoded video, with the way that the gun was positioned and the severity of the gun itself, he would’ve died with one shot let alone two. Now that sufficient evidence has been revealed, we have the option to explore other possibilities of Lewis’ death. So based on previous evidence, Lewis could not have committed suicide. It is more reasonable, justifiable and more evidence supports the theory murder. Also because he had a number of enemies, it is most likely that his murder was