Get Sleepy: Sleep meditation and stories - The Sleepy History of the Pony Express (Premium)

Starting point is 00:00:00 Hi, Thomas here. You're listening to a preview episode. You can enjoy the entire story tonight by subscribing to our supporters' feed. There you'll get access to the entire back catalogue, bonus episodes, and more, and it's all completely ad-free. Click the link below to learn more. And thank you so so much. Me and the team really appreciate your support. The Pony Express was a horse and rider male service that operated across the United States heartland and the West Coast from April 1860 to October 1861. Riders were tasked with boldly carrying sacks of mail across the wild and open landscape, all on the promise of delivering messages in about 10 days.

Starting point is 00:01:15 But even though the pony express closed just 19 months after it began, due to financial woes, it still managed to capture the public's imagination. The legend of the pony express is very much rooted in the story of how America became a bi-coastal nation. For that, we have to travel back to 1803. When the third president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson, decided he wanted easy access to the Mississippi River. Jefferson had been inaugurated in 1801 when the country comprised just 16 states, the most western of which was Tennessee. Beyond was the Louisiana Territory, a region of land that stretched from modern-day Canada down to the Gulf of Mexico. Between the two nestled the Mississippi River, which had served as a vital resource for drinking water, fishing, and agriculture long before European settlers arrived.

Starting point is 00:02:47 The beginning of Jefferson's presidency coincided with the transfer of the Louisiana territory from Spain back to France. At the time, the French, under General Napoleon Bonaparte, had plans to reestablish a dominant North American colony. Understanding France's military power, Jefferson was keen for the United States to secure access to the port city of New Orleans. Located at the bottom of the Mississippi River near the Gulf of Mexico, New Orleans had grown into a thriving trading hub.

Starting point is 00:03:38 One that Jefferson understood would be key to the country's future. And so it was in 1803. Jefferson sent James Monroe to France to join Robert Livingston, who was the US representative base there. They were tasked with negotiating the purchase of New Orleans and West Florida for $10 million. If they were unsuccessful, they were instructed to forge a military alliance with Britain. Bonaparte was facing imminent war with the British. He surprised the two American men by telling them he would sell the whole of the Louisiana territory to the United States for just $15 million. Understanding how valuable such a deal was, Jefferson went forward with the purchase. So in a relatively short period of time, United States nearly doubled its size.

Starting point is 00:05:00 The following year, on behalf of the Jefferson administration, a team led by Maryweather Lewis, and William Clark, traveled westward, learned all that they could about the newly acquired territory. Throughout their roughly two-year mission, the group covered approximately 8,000 miles, surveying land, waterways, animals, and plants. They experienced an array of challenging weather conditions, and they interacted with the native tribes who had called the land home long before the colonists arrived. But for all they witnessed, one can only wonder if Louis and Clark's team ever pondered how their trip might change the course of history.

Get Sleepy: Sleep meditation and stories - The Sleepy History of the Pony Express (Premium)

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.