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Lewis and Clark's Expedition

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On a gloomy December afternoon in 1803, a boat crept along the banks of the Mississippi River and landed at the mouth of the Wood River in what is now the state of Illinois. A group of men climbed out and began to set up camp under a dark canopy of oak trees. Suddenly a violent storm moved in, pelting the area with snow and hail.

The men didn't turn back though. Instead, they hunkered down and spent the next five months here preparing for the trip they were about to embark on,in which poor weather would be one of the many dangers they'd face.

Among these men were Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, co-leaders of an expedition tasked with exploring land that the United States had recently acquired. Their trip would turn into an epic 8,000-mile-long trek-and the first big step in the United States' westward expansion.

LET'S MAKE A DEAL

When Thomas Jefferson became the third president of the United States in 1801, the country basically stopped at the Mississippi River. France controlled much of the land to the west of this waterway.

President Jefferson wanted to acquire the Port of New Orleans, in what is now the state of Louisiana, from the French. Its prime location made it a key spot for trade. In 1803, Jefferson made what's known as one of the greatest real estate deals in history: the Louisiana Purchase.

After negotiations, France agreed to sell the entire city of New Orleans, which included the port, to the United States for $10 million; they threw in the rest of the territory they owned for an additional $5 million. The agreement-which gave the United States approximately 828,000 square miles of land-almost doubled the size of the nearly 30-year-old nation.

The United States only paid about three cents an acre for the land, which stretched from the Mississippi River in the east to the Rocky Mountains in the west and from the Gulf of Mexico in the south to the Canadian border in the north. Spain still owned much of the southwestern part of what's now the United States, stretching from the area that would become Texas to present-day California.

Purchasing this enormous amount of land was one thing, but exploring it was another. Jefferson wanted to plan an expedition to investigate the territory. He called the proposed mission the Voyage of Discovery and began assembling a team of explorers called the Corps (KOR) of Discovery. The president chose Captain Meriwether Lewis and Captain William Clark to lead the expedition. Lewis, President Jefferson's personal secretary, was an officer in the United States Army and spoke several Native American languages. Lewis recommended Clark-a retired officer who had served alongside him in the Army-as the expedition's co-leader.

WAY OUT WEST

In the spring of 1804, Lewis, Clark, and dozens of other men left St. Louis, Missouri, by boat. They traveled westward through what is now Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota.

In November they reached Knife River Village in present-day North Dakota. There they met a young Shoshone Native American woman called Sacagawea (Sa-kuh-juh-WEE-uh) and her fur-trader husband, Toussaint Charbonneau (Too-SAHNT SHAR-bon-oh). The couple joined the expedition as interpreters, translating the language of the local tribes for Lewis and Clark's men.

Sacagawea didn't just serve as an interpreter during the trip, however. She helped Lewis and Clark's men obtain essential supplies and horses, identified edible plants and herbs, and prevented hostile relations with other tribes simply by being with the group-all while carrying her newborn baby on her back.

After meeting Sacagawea and her husband, the Corps traveled west from North Dakota, 15 to 20 miles a day on foot and by boat, toward the mountains. Day after day, the exhausted, freezing team braved rough rivers and perilous peaks, getting by on very little food. They wouldn't see the Pacific Ocean until November 1805-over a year after they first left Missouri.

COMING HOME

After a long winter waiting out the bad weather, the Corps was able to start making their way back east in March 1806. After returning Sacagawea and her husband to North Dakota, the remainder of the Corps arrived back in Missouri in late September, more than two years after they started their expedition.

Lewis and Clark's team mapped uncharted land, rivers, and mountains. They brought back journals filled with details about Native American tribes and scientific notes about plants and animals they'd never seen before. They also brought back stories-tales that made other Americans dream about heading west.

Many Americans did more than dream. The great westward expansion was about to begin.

Text adapted from The Journals of Lewis and Clark; The Mississippi and the Making of a Nation: From the Louisiana Purchase to Today; and Sacagawea

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How Lewis and Clark-along with a Native American guide, Sacagawea-explored the newly expanded United States

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Mr. Nussbaum History Lewis and Clark Activities

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William and Clark Biography

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Biography

Go here to watch a video about Lewis and Clark.

Meriwether Lewis and William Clark
by Unknown

Biography for Kids >> Explorers for Kids

Occupation: Explorers

Born: August 18, 1774 in Ivy, Virginia (Lewis)
August 1, 1770 in Ladysmith, Virginia (Clark)

Died: October 11, 1809 in Hohenwald, Tennessee (Lewis)
September 1, 1838 in St. Louis, Missouri (Clark)

Best known for: Explored the Louisiana Territory and Western North America

Biography:
Lewis and Clark were asked by President Thomas Jefferson to explore and map the wild west of North America. They traveled across the country to the Pacific Ocean and back again.

Who were Lewis and Clark?

Captain Meriwether Lewis (1774 - 1809) was President Thomas Jefferson's private secretary. He was in charge of the expedition to explore the newly purchased Louisiana Territory. He asked his friend William Clark to help.

Lieutenant William Clark (1770 - 1838) served in the United States Army. In preparing for the expedition Clark was responsible for hiring and training the men, while Lewis gathered the equipment and supplies they would need.

Detail of "Lewis & Clark at Three Forks"
by Edgar Samuel Paxson

Setting off to explore
Lewis and Clark, together with their team of over 40 men, began their expedition at the city of St. Louis on May 14, 1804. They packed lots of equipment for their trip including rifles, food, and warm clothing. They even brought lots of glass beads and trinkets so they could trade with Indians along the way.

They started out traveling up the Missouri River. They had one large boat called a barge and two smaller boats called pirogues. They were traveling against the current, so they had to use long poles to push the boats or even ropes to pull the boats from the banks.

Sacagawea and the Native Americans

Lewis and Clark met many Native American tribes along the way. Although there were some tense moments, they made friends and traded with many different tribes. They even spent the first winter with the Mandan nation. There they met a fur trapper named Toussaint Charbonneau and his Shoshone wife, Sacagawea.

Sacagawea joined the expedition as an interpreter. She helped the expedition in many ways as they traveled, including showing them edible plants and helping to keep peace and trade with different tribes.

Without help from the Native American tribes as well as Sacagawea, the expedition would have surely failed.

The Great Falls and the Rockies

As the expedition continued up the Missouri River into what is today the state of Montana, they ran into the Great Falls. It took the men nearly a month to carry their boats for miles around the Great Falls.

Next, Lewis and Clark came to the Rocky Mountains. These mountains were much more difficult to traverse than they first expected. When they finally made it across the Rockies, they met the Nez Perce people, who helped them with food and shelter.

Route of the Lewis and Clark Expedition by Victor van Werkhooven
Click to see larger picture

The Pacific Ocean

It was in November in 1805, around a year and a half after leaving St. Louis, that they finally reached the Pacific Ocean. They stayed that winter near the ocean and started home again in March of 1806. It only took them around six months for the return journey.

Fun Facts about Lewis and Clark

Many animals were new to Lewis and Clark including the grizzly bear and the prairie dog.

After the expedition, Lewis was appointed the governor of the Louisiana Territory, however, Lewis died a few years later. Clark became governor of the Missouri Territory as well as Superintendent of Indian Affairs.

The men on the journey were called the Corps of Discovery.

The total journey was over 7,000 miles.

Only one member of the group died during the trip. It was Sergeant Charles Floyd who died of a burst appendix.

Activities
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More Explorers:

Roald Amundsen

Neil Armstrong

Daniel Boone

Christopher Columbus

Captain James Cook

Hernan Cortes

Vasco da Gama

Sir Francis Drake

Edmund Hillary

Henry Hudson

Lewis and Clark

Ferdinand Magellan

Francisco Pizarro

Marco Polo

Juan Ponce de Leon

Sacagawea

Spanish Conquistadores

Zheng He

Works Cited
Biography for Kids >> Explorers for Kids

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Kids learn about the biography and life of explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. They explored the wild west of America.

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Lewis and Clark Expedition

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Lewis and Clark