Lewis+and+Clark

Journals of Lewis and Clark assignment 1. Two examples of animals hunted by the Lewis and Clark expedition were prairie dogs and elk. 2. Lewis and Clark encountered Indians tribes like the Teton and Mandans. 3. In 1804, the Tetons detained the whites, robbed some of them and in general treated them badly. 4. In general, the Tetons tended to treat the white people badly who encountered them. 6. Lewis and Clark suggested that when visiting some of these Indian tribes, white traders should come in sufficient numbers to "whip any villainous party who dared oppose them." 7. A member of the Lewis and Clark expedition would need to be brave and a skilled outdoorsman/hunter. 8. Jefferson may want to know about the numbers of hostile Indian tribes compared to the tribes who seemed to be more friendly.

President Thomas Jefferson looked forward to the day when the American "empire for liberty" would extend clear across the continent and perhaps beyond. Americans, he said, would eventually "cover the whole northern, if not the southern, continent with a people speaking the same language and governed by similar laws." Even before the Louisiana Purchase, Jefferson had asked for - and Congress had granted - money to finance an expedition to explore beyond the Mississippi.
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In 1803 Jefferson appointed Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to lead an overland party from the French settlement of St. Louis all the way to the Pacific coast if possible. The expedition consisted of fifty young soldiers and woodsmen, organized as an army unit. A Shoshone Indian woman, Sacajawea, served as their interpreter and guide. She helped them establish friendly relations with the Shoshone, who furnished horses for the expedition.

Jefferson's scientific interests were evident in his instructions to the two leaders. Their first duty was to find, if possible "water communication" across this continent. But they were also to keep careful journals about the soil, climate, vegetation, and minerals. They were to record information about their meetings with Indian tribes, opportunities for fur trading, and possible routes for overland migration. They were even told to take along the recently developed smallpox vaccine and show the Indians how to use it.

The Lewis and Clark expedition took two years and four months. It added tremendously to American knowledge of the West. It showed that overland travel in that enormous region was possible. It opened the path for people who would come for furs, then for gold, and also for the land itself. It also strengthened American claims to the vaguely defined Oregon country on the northwest coast. Additionally, it would eventually lead to the clash between Indian cultures native to the area and American settlers.