Manifest Destiny, as a term for westward expansion, was not used until the 1840s. Its predecessor was the Doctrine of Discovery, a tradition by which Europeans laid legal claim to the land of the indigenous people that they "discovered." Thus the competition among the United States and European nations to establish claims of who got there first became very important. In the United States, the British colonists who had recently become Americans were competing with the English, French, and Spanish for control of lands west of the Mississippi. Who would be the "discoverers" of the Indians and their lands, the United States or the European countries? We know the answer, of course, but in this book, the author explains for the first time exactly how the United States achieved victory not only on the ground, but also in the developing legal thought of the day. The American effort began with Thomas Jefferson's authorisation of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, which set out in 1803 to lay claim to the West. In addition to searching for a land route across the continent in order to establish an American fur trade with China, the expedition performed detailed ethnographic research on the Indians they encountered. Ironically, Native Americans ensured the success of the expedition by saving Lewis and Clark on 14 documented occasions. This fascinating book lays out the legal basis for the Indian removal practices that were implemented decades later. It also explains how the Doctrine of Discovery became part of American law, even until today, and helps us to understand some of Lewis's and Clark's words and deeds while on their expedition.