Who were the first travelers in the west in the 1800s?

The first travelers in the American West during the 1800s included explorers, fur trappers, and missionaries. Notable figures such as Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, who undertook the Lewis and Clark Expedition from 1804 to 1806, mapped the region and established connections with Native American tribes. Fur traders, like those from the Rocky Mountain Fur Company, ventured into the West to exploit its resources, while missionaries sought to convert Indigenous peoples and establish settlements. These early travelers paved the way for westward expansion and settlement in the decades that followed.