The Expedition Of Lewis And Clark

When the California Gold Rush took off almost everyone wanted to try their luck in California, and the first thing they had to do is get there. If you on the eastern side of the United State or from European you had two choices to get to California they were the sea or land route, but if you were on the Pacific Ocean coast you direct sea route to there. The land route took you across the great United State through some of its most extremes weather and terrain, and traveler had survived the untamed west on their own and what they bring. Also, they had to struggle against diseases outbreaks such as Cholera which the text said, “As many as 1500 travelers died from Cholera along the Overland Trail in 1849” (Gillon, 298). The most popular route

While the current US Americans who were in California all got there traveling by sea. A man named Jedediah Smith made great advances in getting us closer to California. Author

The foremost reason behind the Lewis and Clark expedition was all based on Thomas Jefferson’s, president at the time, interest in expanding the West since before the 1803 Louisiana Purchase in France. Even as a child, Jefferson was always curious and interested. Jefferson believed that if he could enlarge the United States to the West it would be guaranteed that the United States would survive and would have a stronger government. Thomas Jefferson had chosen various candidates to send to explore to the West, due to him being busy being the president. Each candidate Jefferson chose, did not seem to be fit for the job. In around 1802, Jefferson read a book on Alexander Mackenzie who previous traveled from Canada to the Pacific Ocean and then back. After reading the book he told his personal secretary, Meriwether Lewis, about the book and Mackenzie’s accomplishments. Lewis decided to take the challenge of following the footsteps of Alexander Mackenzie and make that same journey. Thomas Jefferson sent Lewis to Philadelphia to be tutored and taught to survive during the journey. Lewis then hand-picked

This report is on Lewis and Clark's adventure through the United States. On May 14,1803 William Clark and nearly four dozen other men met up with Meriwether Lewis on May 20. The Lewis and Clark

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.

We expected Whitman Mission to be a nice place to stock up on food, but this place was burned down to the ground. There was one wagon train about to leave but we stopped them and asked them what had happened. They said that the Indians burned it down because of a disease that killed off a lot of Indians. They didn't want anyone else catching the disease. The Indians were the only ones not immune to this disease. We didn't stay here for long because we were scared they would burn us too. We headed to Oregon City. It was going to be tough and we would probably start to run low on supplies. We reached Dalles where we stayed for one day. Then we headed out and followed the Barlow Road that goes around Mt.Hood. This trail is very narrow and rough.

The state of California was nearly barren of human life in the 1830s and early 1840s, and even scarcer was the population of white Americans. During this time the land was populated by wild horses and wild cattle whom were controlled by the Native Americans of the region. In the year of 1841, John Bidwell and his party of thirty were one of the first white people to travel as far west as California, except for Bonneville’s party of 1833. The first settlement Bidwell’s party reached was the ranch of Dr. Marsh in the eastern foothills of the Coast Range Mountains. That year had been one of the driest California had ever experienced. “The country was brown and parched” (Bidwell 1), crops all over the state had failed and the cattle grazed in the

The forty niners used their supplies like water and food too quickly which could have costed them their lives. Even tho they would find water on their way to California it would not be ok to drink. Because of this they would drink the dirty water or they would die from dehydration. So they would get sick from the dirty water. Also the forty niners were very unprepared for the journey. Most had to throw out all the junk that wasn’t important because they needed their animals to be able to pull the wagon. Since the forty niners packed so much they sometimes would throw out food because they thought it would be better to have supplies for their new home than to have food which they needed to survive. Finally the forty niners’ trip was difficult because they wouldn’t be able to find grass and water for their animals to eat. This was a big problem because without food or water for the animals they could die. Since the animals would die the forty niners would be forced to walk, which was a very dangerous and tiring thing to do. The forty niners also had to find a way to make a living since most of the time mining for gold didn’t work so

Having to travel the long distance to California was very tough. Most of the pioneers brought far too much with them on there trip to California which affected them severely. Almost all of the pioneers had

I think people at that time had already known that there was a various significant economy in California before it became a state. Then, people discovered to seek the gold all around the California area. “California was still the property in Mexico that would change things…Americans to the west had the discovery been three years later…”

Our next hardship is illnesses. This was a monumental challenge during that day. Their medical knowledge was very little. Lewis and Clark did carry medicine with them, but most of it did no good. These diseases included boils, dysentery, frost bite, appendicitis, tooth aches, mouth sores, cholera, and many more. The only person to die on the expedition was Sergeant Charles Floyd, and he passed away with appendicitis. Also petty things like no toothbrushes or unsterile water cause many of the diseases. (2. Delms) (12. Scott)

During the late 1840’s and early 1850’s, people from around the world, of different ethnicities, flocked to California in hopes of participating in the Californian Gold Rush. California, since the migration of the European settlers has always been a location for various cultures and ethnicities. On January 19th, 1849, James Marshall, a carpenter who lived on the American River in Coloma, California, tried to widen the tailrace of his mill, to run more water through the mill. The next morning Marshall shut off the water running through the mill to see what progress he had made. Wading through the water, Marshall noticed pieces of gold shining beneath the sand. This was the first recorded discovery of Gold in California. Although White men were the first peoples to discover the large deposits of gold in the dirt, they were far from the first people living in California.

Thomas Jefferson chose Meriwether Lewis who was previously his secretary to lead the expedition. Thus being chosen to lead the expedition, William Clark volunteered to assist Lewis on the journey. Working together on the upcoming journey, it is clear that both these men made a great dynamic duo, Lewis being the one with the scientific knowledge such as studying soil, animals, rock formations and the geography of the new uncharted land and Clark mapping the course traveled and having a great military background.

In 1822, Smith joined the Rocky Mountain Trade for the remainder of the decade. He belonged to a party in 1824 that rediscovered the South Pass, a passage to the Northwest through Wyoming. Later he and his trading party left the Great Salt Lake and crossed the Mojave Desert, becoming the first Americans to enter California from the east. Later in 1827, he retraced his steps from the Great Salt Lake to Southern Californian, but the Mohave Indians attacked his party and killed all but eight of his men.

Within the time period of 1801- 1809 Thomas Jefferson was President and participated in the Louisiana Purchase. America bought 820,000 square miles from France. (All land that stretched from the Mississippi river, in total 15 states were bought from the purchase.) With this amount of un-known land, Jefferson called for an exploration and hired Meriwether Lewis, Jefferson’s secretary, due to his penmanship and frontiersman skills. Lewis grew up in Virginia and served in the United States Army along with William Clark. When Lewis was asked to command the expedition he then appointed Clark to be leader along with him. Clark also grew up in Virginia, and was known for his skills in map making and guiding the men. Jefferson was hoping to find a waterway connecting the Colombia and Missouri Rivers, by doing this the waterways would then connect the Pacific Ocean and the Mississippi River. Thus making trade across America more productive. Because of the Louisiana Purchase America desired to understand their land to not only adapt to it, but to use it in the most effective way. Within this necessary journey, men risk their lives to shape and educate America through their documentation kept and inspiring story.