|
|
Article: Yellowstone River Expeditions
- Article from:
- Dictionary of American History
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
YELLOWSTONE RIVER EXPEDITIONS
YELLOWSTONE RIVER EXPEDITIONS
(1819
–
1825) were planned by John C. Calhoun, secretary of War under President Jame Monroe, to intimidate British fur traders and the American Indians of the upper Missouri. Calhoun's decision to initiate these expeditions emerged from his expansionist political philosophy. Having supported the recent war against Britain (1812
–
1814), he was suspicious of decades-old alliances between the British and many American Indian tribes, and he devised strategies to secure United States control of the North American continent. The Yellowstone Expeditions were part of a larger military policy that included the ...