Lesson One

The Lewis and Clark Expedition

 

 

The New York Times Article January 21, 2004

"Museum Finds Lewis and Clark Artifact, Lost for a Century"

by Sara Rimer

 

 

Bell Ringer: With a show of hands, how many have been on vacation? OK, what is the longest distance you have had to drive to get there? Now, imagine going about 5000 miles to reach your destination. Now imagine going without a car, music, or Game Boy! How would you feel by the end of your journey?

http://www.vitalchek.com/media/map.gif

Students Will Be Able To: Explain the importance and purpose of the Lewis and Clark expedition.

PA Standard 8.3.9.C

Input: Origins and the Journey: President Thomas Jefferson had started to plan out an expedition to the Pacific since 1802 to find a Northwest Passage that joined the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. He asked his private secretary Captain Meriwether Lewis to be the leader of such an expedition, who in turn asked his friend from the army, Lieutenant William Clark to join him to find such a passage. The Louisiana Purchase made the expedition important because the country had doubled its size and the team had to declare the states American. There was a team of 48 men when they left and they were called the Corps of Discovery. There were civilian hunters, army soldiers, and French boatmen. Clark's slave York and Lewis' dog Seaman. The Corps left on May 21, 1804 from St. Louis up the Missouri River (see map from http://www.lewisclark.net/images/bigmap.jpg).

The members kept journals. Click Here for Journals

 

The Journey Home: From April to December 1805, the Corps of Discovery went down to 33 people. One was a Native American, Sacagawea with her baby, and husband. Sacagawea was an important asset to the group because she became a translator and peacemaker among the other Native Americans they came about during the expedition. The team reached the Pacific Ocean in November 1805. They then built their winter home, Fort Clatsop which is in now Astoria, Oregon. In March 1806, the Corps split into two groups for the journey home. Lewis went into now Montana, and Clark went by the Yellowstone River. In August 1806 the two groups met up on the Missouri river at the mouth of the Yellowstone. They all arrived in St. Louis on September 23, 1806. So ended the expedition.

Outcomes: Although the Corps did not discover a connector for the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans as Jefferson had dreamed, the team still discovered the new lands that became part of America. They discovered 122 animal species, some include the grizzly bear, the California condor, the coyote, black-footed ferret, black-billed magpie, black-tailed prairie dog, the pronghorn, and the gray wolf. 178 new plant species were discovered, some include the western red cedar, eastern cottonwood, red flowering currant, the mountain hemlock, the whitepine, Sitka spruce, Oregon grape, and the Pacific yew. They also made western settlement important by bringing back tales of the great wilderness.

Practice/Application: Click Here to join the Corps of Discovery!

Click Here for another Lewis and Clark activity

 

What could we learn from this journey?

Closure: What was the main objective of the Lewis and Clark expedition? What did the Corps of Discovery accomplish? What did this expedition mean for the future of the United States?