The Expeditions Of The Expedition

to accompany them. The purpose of this expedition was to find a water route to the Pacific, to

“What would it be like to explore this New World, not only in books but on the ground? To take a pilgrimage through early America that ended at Plymouth Rock instead of beginning there? To make landfall where the first Europeans had, meet the Naturals, mine the past, and map its memory in the present? To rediscover my native land, the U.S. continent?” (Horwitz 7).

The expedition of Lewis and Clark was a landmarking event in American history, but its significance goes beyond just the land they discovered.The Lewis and Clark Expedition was put forward so the two would be able to see and map out western America in search of new trade routes and passages. Lewis and Clark would have doubtfully survived had it not been with the aid of the Indians they met on their travels. Upon their controversial meetings with several Indian groups, Lewis and Clark were not respectful to the Americans they met on their journey. The controversial messages behind the peace metals, the reference to the Indians as “children”, and the physical

The book “The Captain's Dog” follows Lewis and Clark's expedition, which took place from 1804 to 1806, to find A waterway that travelled from the east coast to the west coast, were they end up in modern day Oregon. Most of the U.S. had not been claimed by Europe and was owned by other countries. The expedition was started by George Washington who was the president at the time, sent out Lewis and Clark after the Louisiana purchase, which was when the U.S. had bought A large amount of land from Spain. Lewis and Clark had started the expedition in missouri, following the mississippi river. Though they did not discover A passage way, they discovered many new species of animals. Captain Clark had also brought along his dog, Seaman, who had gotten

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.

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

The members of the expedition were always on the lookout for Indians and hoping they would come in peace. They were armed in case they weren't. For security, Lewis and Clark made camp on river isla nds whenever possible and kept guards there at night. By the end of July they had traveled more than 600 miles up the river and still hadn't met an Indian.

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 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.

In two years, Lewis, Clark, and all of the men that traveled with them did the impossible. They mapped the territory, collected ample samples of flora and fauna, and made peace with the various Indian tribes, all while keeping more than thirty men alive in the wilderness. If they hadn’t been efficient packers and effective diplomats, none of this would have been possible. Their journey was a huge success, and all of the men made it back alive, despite risking themselves several times by splitting up. The journey of Lewis and Clark will be remembered for centuries to come, and rightfully so.

Many people in America know of the historical expedition of Lewis and Clark, but only a few know of the expedition to California led by Jedediah Smith. This expedition took place after Thomas Jefferson signed the papers to acquire a huge region in the west through the Louisiana Purchase. After this expansion many people were eager to explore the west and among those was Jedediah Smith. From his childhood, Smith dreamed one day of exploring the unknown west part of the United States. He once said, "I wanted to be the first to view a country on which the eyes of a white man had never gazed and to follow the course of rivers that run through a new land." In 1824, Jedediah Smith began formulating his famous California expedition that

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.

The Louisiana Purchase, Lewis and Clark expeditions, the establishment of a national road, and the philosophy

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-

William Clark drew a series of maps that were remarkably detailed, noting and naming rivers and creeks, significant points in the landscape, the shape of river shore, and spots where the Corps spent each night or camped or portaged for longer periods of time. (Perry). Explorers later on could use the maps to further explore land out west. Douglas Perry wrote The Expedition of the Corps of Discovery shaped a crude route to the waters of the Pacific and marked an initial pathway for the new nation to spread westward from ocean to ocean, fulfilling what would become to many Americans an obvious destiny (Perry). Without this initial path being mapped and explored western expansion could have been put off for decades.