The 1997 Filmlewis And Clark: The Journey Of The Corps Of Discovery

In 1804, Thomas Jefferson had Meriwether Lewis and William Clark on an arduous mission. Their mission was to explore the west side of Mississippi, because the United States had bought the land in the Louisiana Purchase. The long journey required Lewis and Clark to overcome many obstacles, such as mountains and Native tribes that were unfamiliar to them.

The Lewis and Clark expedition was a truth that was to become the crowning accomplishment in the lifetime of the brilliant thinker, inventor, and founding father, Thomas Jefferson . It has become a profounding turning point throughout America’s history. Investigating the recently obtained Louisiana Territory, which nearly doubled the size of the country, arranged Jefferson the opportunity to widen the boundaries of the United States to include both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The threat of the unknown lay ahead for Lewis and Clark’s team. The explorers had no idea what they would e be confronted with on their journey, but still they advanced into the unknown area that could officially be called part of America. Thanks to the addition of Lewis, Clark, their essential guide Sacajawea, and the many men that traveled with them America was able to expose land as well as providing important information about the topography, the biological studies, the ecology, and the studies of the American Indian as they discovered the mysteries of the Louisiana Purchase. Although it was a treacherous and costly journey, the Lewis and Clark expedition was the most important exploration in American history.

In May of 1804, two men set out on an important journey that would take them across the country and discover new land, but none of it would have been possible without the aid of one woman. The Lewis and Clark Expedition was planned by Thomas Jefferson, in order to explore the unknown in the newly purchased Louisiana Territory, and also to find a water route across the continent. Along the way the group of men met a quiet native, named Sacagawea, whose impact would later have a large effect on the success of their important journey.

Exploration has always been a central theme in the development of the United States. The Louisiana Purchase, in 1803, made the government more eager to expand west. The newly acquired lands were in need of exploration. A team needed to be established to survey and document the new territory. The Lewis and Clark expedition would answer the unknown questions of the west. The expedition would not have been successful without the leadership, determination, discipline of the Corps of Discovery, and the cooperation of the Native Americans. President Jefferson wanted the leader to have the same passion and intensity toward the discovery of the west as he possessed. Jefferson hand-

When you hear the names Lewis and Clark, you think of the legendary people who first discovered the midwest, but they did more than that. They opened the door to infinite possibilities and are responsible for the world as we know it today. This paper will be discussing what challenges they faced and how it impacted the United States. Lewis and Clark faced many challenges on their expedition, including bad weather, possible animal attacks and encounters with Indians, but in the end, Lewis and Clark were able to map out much of the west and the Pacific Ocean area and even discovered new animals and plants.

The question arises of why Thomas Jefferson commenced the great expedition of Lewis and Clark. “ Jefferson wanted to form an expedition that were able to gather valuable information about Western Indians while living at peace with them” (Ronda 1). This was important because the people that were going to move into the Louisiana territory had to make sure they had peace with the Native American. If people take away the Native’s food source, or destroy the materials they make a living out of, is going to cause conflict between the two. “The expedition was fashioned to explore the vast wilderness of what is now North Western United States. It was sponsored by the United States government and was led by U.S. army officers

Jefferson had secured agreement form the ambassadors of England, France, and Spain that their counties would not try to interfere with Lewis and Clark expedition. The explorers met with Osage Indians on their way of expedition but the Indians were peaceful. For unknown to Leis and Clark, the Spanish had reneged on the promise of safe conduct given to Jefferson by the Spanish ambassadors. Yrujo had warned his Spanish men that American were taking toward the South Sea and he urged commandant Salcedo general of Viceroyalty of New Spain to arrest Lewis and his followers and to seize all the documents that may be found on them. Then Salcedo encouraged his Indian allied to attack Lewis and Clark, but Comanches Indians never found them. The Lakotas was invited to the council by a French-Canadian interpreter who had lived among them and the first meeting with the Lakota was done well. I think Lewis and Clark could have exacted amicable relations if they were acting on their own because they both worked under the order of Jefferson to explore.

On May 14, 1804 in the eastern city of Saint Louis, William Clark and Merry-weather Lewis set of on the westward adventure that would change America as we know it today. Their journey began on the Mississippi River, those rapids would propel Lewis and Clark into the "Corps of Discovery". Across the vast land that these men would soon travel lived the many native-american tribes. The Native people hunted freely across their western lands, lived their life as one with the ground they so carefully treaded on. Soon, the great American adventurers and the native people would meet, but one brought with them the foreshadowing of a new era. An era when American life would be greatly improved with new natural resources and plentiful free land, but only at the cost of ruining the native american people of their way of life. The Lewis and Clark Expedition expanded the knowledge and lifestyle of America but began the elimination of the original American natives way of life and culture.

Captain Meriwether Lewis and William Clark put their lives on the line only to return with information regarding the Pacific Northwest of the United States territory. Their reasons behind this journey, being to expand the United States to the West, involved the entire nation but debatably, their accomplishments and the reaction of others became a major part of today’s history.

On February 28, 1803, President Thomas Jefferson, with the approval of congress, created the Corps of Discovery. Their mission was to map the newly acquired western lands of the Louisianna Purchase, almost 1803—828,000 square miles of unexplored territory, as well as find a route to the Pacific Ocean. This expedition was led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. During their adventure, the group encountered many hostile Native American groups, and if not for Sacagawea, these tribes would have surely jeopardized their operation. Due to her role as a helpful guide, Sacagawea was crucial in the encounter between the Corps of Discovery and the Native Americans because she negotiated and traded between the groups, functioned as a peace token, and served as an interpreter.

They were led well though. The author holds Meriwether Lewis in high esteem. Jefferson took Meriwether under his wing and into his President's House to be his secretary. Their father-son relationship became a deep friendship, and Jefferson chose Lewis to head the expedition. Lewis chose an associate, William Clark, to join him in command. Though Clark's official Army rank was lieutenant, theirs was a true co-captaincy. Most people’s perception of early builders of America is with a purity of reason and purpose, while, Ambrose shows that they are just as greedy then as they are now. Also in the way of the book Ambrose wipes out the belief that Indians were innocent harmless humans. They were filthy, dishonest, and belligerent, and awful to their women, not totally unlike the mass of mankind.

The group that helped William Clark and Meriwether Lewis were called Corps of Discovery by many historians. They faced many dangers like meeting the Native Americans and bringing unprepared for the weather. Along their way, they met many Native Americans who helped them to survive. They knew that meeting a different group of Native American could be deadly. Along the way they picked up Sacajawea who was a part of the Shoshone Indian who acted as their interrupter and guide along their voyage. While Sacajawea was helping Lewis and Clark on their expedition she gave birth to a child. They reached the Pacific Ocean on November 1805. They stayed along the Pacific Coast and built shelter for the winter. In 1806 Lewis and Meriwether took different routes one by boat and one by foot. While Lewis was exploring the Land by his feet he was robbed by Indian and shot by one of his men hunting. Thankfully, Lewis and Meriwether met up. Throughout their journey they traveled nearly 8,000 miles.

In order to know the land better, President Jefferson sent Meriwether Lewis and William Clark on an expedition to find a route from St. Louis, Missouri to the Pacific Ocean.

May 14, 1804, finally the expedition, with approximately fifty companions, departed from St. Louis. The party followed the Missouri River, through Dakota, Montana, and over the Rocky Mountains. By December 1805, they had travelled the Colombia River and reached the Pacific Sea. Lewis and Clark saw wonders that no other American had seen before. On their journey home Sacajawea and her husband stayed, to live at the Shoshones