British North America Jefferson buys this land from Napoleon in1803 for 15 million dollars
Meriwether Lewis &William Clark 2nd in Command Ex-Army officer/ mapmaker geographer and nature artist Excelled at hunting, fishing, trapping, tracking, camping, river and land navigation. Expedition Leader Army Captain / naturalist studied medicine, botany, zoology, and navigation.
Goals of the Expedition Scientific – Study plants, animals, geography Mapmaking – Chart the new American lands Geographical – Find the Source of the Missouri River? Determine if there is a river route to the Pacific Ocean? Economic – What new resources does the Louisiana Territory have that will help America? Ambassadors to Indian Tribes – Bring messages of friendship – “Peace Medals”
JEFFERSON PEACE MEDAL
The Corps of Discovery Along with Lewis and Clark went: Twenty-one soldiers, eighteen river men, an interpreter, Clark’s slave York Newfoundland dog Fall of 1803 / Winter of 1804 camp was established near St. Louis, Missouri. Training and final preparations were made for the departure in May. On May 14, 1804, the Expedition starts up the Missouri River with three boats and 43 men
Leg I – Up the Missouri River
National Geographic Video As you are watching the Video, please complete the worksheet that highlights their incredible journey and its incredible accomplishments https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OijGUOfyBXg
Headed Upstream: A Grueling Start The Corps of Discovery headed upstream along the Missouri River. Because they were traveling against the current, the men had to pole, row or drag the boats with ropes while on the riverbank.
Spring 1804 Lewis and Clark met many Indian tribes along the way including the famous Lakota, or Teton Indians in central South Dakota
WINTER 1804 /1805 Lewis and Clark spend the winter of 1804 in a Mandan Indian village in what is now North Dakota They hire a French trapper to be their guide through the Indian lands Sacagawea, the guide’s wife and a Shoshone Indian woman from the Rockies joins the expedition
Sacagawea and her infant son Pompey Accompany Lewis and Clark on their journey through the Rockies and to the Pacific
the rest go onward to the Pacific Spring 1805: Some go back, the rest go onward to the Pacific 12 men packed the keelboat and a canoe with specimens, maps and notes for President Jefferson, and headed back home in April to deliver these important discoveries. The remaining crew continued west upriver on the Missouri in two pirogues and six dugout canoes.
Summer 1805: Shoshone Indians, Rocky Mountains, and the Continental Divide The Corps meets with the SHOSONE Indians , who are familiar with the Rockies Sacagawea is reunited with her brother, the Chief of the tribe The explorers buy horses and the expedition takes 11 days to cross the Rocky Mountains
Fall 1805: The Home Stretch Dugout Canoes Once they cross the Rockies, Lewis and Clark meet the Nez Perce Indians who teach the explorers how to make Canoes from logs that will speed down the Snake and Columbia Rivers toward the Pacific Ocean
November 1805: The Pacific Ocean! The expedition emerges on the bluffs of modern day Oregon and completes the most impressive journey of all time
Spring and Summer 1806: The Journey Home The expedition begins a 6 month journey back to St. Louis from the Oregon Territory Lewis and Clark split up and explore the Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers In July, they meet a few hostile Indians and kill two – the only loss of life inflicted by the expedition They reunite and return to St. Louis as Heroes in September of 1806
The Legacy of the Lewis and Clark Expedition Strategic and Scientific contributions to the United States
Strategic National Outcomes Sets the stage for westward expansion and future western settlement Sets the stage for Future Military presence in the west Expands American trade in furs and lumber Contact made with many unknown Indian Tribes Trade networks and Future Allies, as well as future enimies
Science and Nature Outcomes Accurate Maps New Plants New Animals