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Meriwether Lewis: was it suicide?

John S Westefeld1, Aaron Less

  • 1College of Education, University of Iowa, 361 Lundquist Center N., Iowa City, IA 52242-1529, USA. john-westefeld@uiowa.edu

Suicide & Life-Threatening Behavior
|September 24, 2004
PubMed
Summary

Two centuries after the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Meriwether Lewis

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Area of Science:

  • Psychological Medicine
  • Forensic Psychology
  • American History

Background:

  • The death of Meriwether Lewis, co-leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, remains a subject of historical debate.
  • This article examines historical evidence surrounding Lewis' death from a psychological perspective.
  • A risk factor model for suicide assessment (Sanchez, 2001) is utilized to analyze Lewis's case.

Discussion:

  • Historical, personal, psychosocial, environmental, and clinical risk factors were evaluated.
  • Protective factors were also considered in the assessment of Meriwether Lewis's death.
  • Evidence supporting a murder theory was considered but found less compelling.

Key Insights:

  • Meriwether Lewis exhibited numerous risk factors for suicide.
  • The psychological profile suggests a high likelihood of suicide.
  • The preponderance of evidence supports suicide as the cause of death.

Outlook:

  • Further psychological analysis of historical figures can illuminate past events.
  • Understanding historical suicide risk factors can inform contemporary mental health approaches.
  • The study contributes to the ongoing historical and psychological understanding of Meriwether Lewis.

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