Freitas 1

Saint Louis School

Lewis and Clark Exploration

Exploration, Encounter, and Exchange
Kaeo Freitas
U.S History 11
Mr. Cambareri
19 November, 2015

Freitas 2

Meriwether Lewis and William Clark went on an adventurous, exciting,

and scary exploration of the land from the Louisiana Purchase. During this
exploration of the unknown land they gathered many information of plants,
animals, geography, minerals, along with many good and not so good
encounters with the native tribes. This adventure was brought together by
President Thomas Jefferson after the Louisiana Purchase. Jefferson asked
Meriwether Lewis to be the leader of this adventurous exploration. A lot was
going on during the early 1800s just like Jefferson becoming President
(Taylor, 1). Along with 2 men bringing together a squad of men to explore
this unknown land. They began their journey in May of 1804, with many
months of hard work and preparation (Taylor, 1). During this exploration they
gathered enormous amounts of information about the newly explored land.
But during the exploration they faced hardships which made the expedition
even more terrifying. They also came in contact with many Natives especially
a brave Native American teenage women named Sacagawea which proved to
be tremendous help. Upon their return they greatly impacted the Americans
and Europeans.

Freitas 3

(Frank R. Davenport)
There was a lot going on in the U.S during the early 1800s. A couple of
things that happened was first, the use of the White House and second, the
election of President Thomas Jefferson (Taylor, 1). Without Thomas Jefferson
there wouldnt be the Louisiana Purchase therefore no great exploration and
America wouldnt be what it is today. Another major event that was
happening in the U.S during the early 1800s is Ohio abolishing Slavery
(Taylor, 1). This was a major event because it is getting slavery closer and
closer to being extinct. Fully functional railways were also invented which
was a big change in the American society (Taylor, 1). Fully functional railways
meant that people and industries could get large amounts of supplies sent
somewhere within months, weeks, or days. This meant more supply and
demand and more money into our Country. Railways also meant a new way
of transportation. The first published Webster American-English Dictionary
was also during the early 1800s which meant a written way of our unique
language (Taylor, 1).
Before any on this exploring goes on it all starts with our two great
leaders being born. Meriwether Lewis was Aug 11, 1774 in Ivy, Virginia (bio,
1). Meriwether was a member of the State Militia, later he joined the regular
Army where he became a captain (bio, 1). In 1801 he was asked by President
Thomas Jefferson to be his own private secretary, which he accepted and
stayed loyal to Thomas Jefferson (bio, 1). As things go for William Clark he
was born Aug 1, 1770 Caroline County, Virginia (bio, 1). He joined the army

Freitas 4

at 19 and became a military officer where he later retired (bio, 1). During
1803, Meriwether Lewis recruited William Clark at the Age of 33 to share
command of the Corps of Discovery (bio, 1).
As long as the exploration itself took, it also took many months just to
prepare and get everything the green light for this exploration. President
Thomas Jefferson sent a message to Congress on January 18, 1803 (nps, 1).
This message asked about the expedition where he talked about the goals of
the expedition. In this letter he also asked for help in funding the expedition.
He said the trip was not going to be expensive they only needed supplies
such as guns, observing instruments, and light but also cheap presents to
trade with the Indians. But, upon their return he asked for a soldier's portion
of land (nps, 1). On March 15, 1803 Lewis went to what is nowadays West
Virginia to get his rifles and other equipment (nps, 1). There he took a crash
course on leadership, survival, and observation training. On June 19th 1803
Lewis sent a long letter to his old friend William Clark offering him to be a coleader on a mission to explore Louisiana. On July 5th Lewis left Washington to
pick up 3500 pounds of supplies for his expedition (nps, 1).

Freitas 5

(Megan Williams)
Lewis and Clark plus their men made up the Corps of Discovery and
went on one of the greatest explorations of all time (Briney, 1). Their journey
began in St. Louis, Missouri during May, 1804 (Buckley, 1). This journey
covered about 8,000 miles of unknown land and took almost 2 years to
complete (Buckley, 1). Lewis and Clark plus their men could only cover about
10 to 20 miles every day while they carried a 10 ton keelboat and 2 tugboats
everywhere they went (Buckley, 1).Lewis and Clark had to make
observations on the geography of the land and also take down all the new
plants, animals, soil, minerals, and climates that they encountered. Along
with coming in contact with many Native American tribes, they traded and
preformed many ceremonies (pbs, 1). The amazing exploration came to a
close when the returned to St. Louis on September 23, 1806 (Buckley, 1).
During this amazing journey Lewis and Clark had to write down almost
every step they took including drawing and writing about everything new
that they encountered. During their long expedition they drew around 140

Freitas 6

different maps, which really helped others gain a good understanding of the
land (Wiki, 1). They drew every mountain and geographical site they
encountered, along with the climate and other details of the area. Lewis and
Clark took down 178 new plants and 122 new animals and many new
minerals (Buckley, 1). Along with the new animals they founded some were
very dangerous. One example of a dangerous animal was the bear which
created complications for Lewis and Clark. They completed Jeffersons goal of
encountering and exchanging with the Native Americans. They came in
contact with nearly 50 Native American tribes, and made relations with many
of them (pbs, 1). Some of the Native Americans already had encounters with
the British, or just didnt like white men.
A part of what made this exploration so amazing is all of the challenges
that they came encounter with. They faced hardships such as lack of privacy,
they had very poor hygiene, and also their healthcare was very bad relying
on natural resources (Delms, 1). Natural disasters such as flash floods, and
bad climate and weather created challenges for Lewis and Clark, also various
diseases, and numerous amounts of insects played a factor. Sometimes they
would face simple challenges such as decision making, they would make
very poor choices. Starvation and exhaustion slowed the men down
tremendously, walking and working all day along with constantly building
shelters (Delms, 1).

Freitas 7

(Edgar Samuel Paxson)

One of Thomas Jeffersons main goals was to make relations with all of
the tribes they came into contact with. Which they did coming in contact
with nearly 50 Native American tribes (pbs, 1).There were many different
tribes that lived very different and distinctively from one another. When
encountering these tribes Lewis and Clark had to explain to the tribes that
the land belonged to the U.S and that President Thomas Jefferson was their
new great father. Lewis and Clark said there was many different kinds of
Indians (pbs, 1). There were the mandarins who lived in earth lodges and
farm corn. The Teton Sioux which hunted buffalo and lived in teepees had a
very fierce army to protect themselves (pbs, 1). There was some tribes that
have never seen a black or white man before. But overall most of the tribes
helped the Americans with food, water, transportation, and other facts and
details of the land. When Lewis and Clark came encounter with the tribes
they would perform ceremonies. It started by them discussing with the

Freitas 8

natives, and they were given a peace medal (pbs, 1). After that they would
perform a parade with their uniforms and shooting their guns (pbs, 1).
Sacagawea proved to be a tremendous help when it came to communicating
and trading with the Natives.
The Lewis and Clark expedition had a great impact for everyone,
especially during its times. It impacted the Natives in the area as their land
now belonged to the U.S (NS, 9). They natives were also affected by
encountering the Americans and trading with them. The information they
brought back impacted the Americans and the Europeans by opening up new
fur hunting and trade (NS, 9). Their information also helped the U.S in
sprouting up new countries. Lewis and Clark also mapped out good places for
colonies (NS, 1).
The Lewis and Clark expedition was the greatest exploration in its time.
This great exploration took many months to complete and covered about
8,000 miles (Buckley, 1). While going on this long exploration they had to
take notes on almost everything they saw. This included any new plants or
animals, any new minerals, even drawing any mountains or landscapes.
Lewis and Clark also came in contact with many Native American tribes,
some proven helpful while others not. What made this exploration such a
great one was that these men were sent into unknown lands for the
Americans, along with just trying to survive they must give a whole overview
of what and who can be found living in the area. Many hardships were faced
during this exploration which made things even harder for Lewis and Clark.

Freitas 9

These hardships included things such as disease, and bad climate which
definitely affected them. The Lewis and Clark exploration was one of the
greatest because of level of danger and mysteriousness, and also upon their
return all of the new information that they just gathered about the new land.

Freitas 10

Biography.com Editors. Meriwether Lewis Biography. Biography. n.p., Web.

5 Nov. 2015.
http://www.biography.com/
Biography.com Editors. William Clark Biography. Biography. n.p., Web. 5
Nov. 2015. http://www.biography.com/
Briney, Amanda. "Lewis and Clark." About Education. n.p., Web. 5 Nov. 2015.
http://geography.about.com/
Buckley, Jay. "Expedition from May 14, 1804, to October 16, 1805."
Encyclopedia Britannica
Online. n.p., Web. 5 Nov. 2015.
http://www.britannica.com/
Delms, J. "Lewis & Clark Expedition - Hardships and Dangers Faced
Routinely." Enzine Articles.
n.p., Web. 5 Nov. 2015.
http://ezinearticles.com/
"Lewis and Clark Expedition." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. n.p., Web. 5
Nov. 2015. http://en.wikipedia.org/
"The Native Americans" Lewis & Clark Expedition - Hardships and Dangers
Faced Routinely. PBS. n.p., Web. 5 Nov. 2015. http://www.pbs.org/
"NebraskaStudies.Org." NebraskaStudies.Org. n.p., Web. 5 Nov. 2015.
http://www.nebraskastudies.org/
Taylor, Quintard. United States History: Timeline: 1800-1900. University of
Washington. n.p., Web. 5 Nov. 2015. http://faculty.washington.edu/
United States. National Park Service. "Preparing for the Journey--Lewis and
Clark Expedition:
National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary." National Parks
Service. n.p., . Web. 5 Nov. 2015. http://www.nps.gov/

Freitas 11

Biography.com Editors. Meriwether Lewis Biography. Biography. n.p., Web.

5 Nov. 2015.
http://www.biography.com/
This website gave great amounts of information of where, and when
Meriwether Lewis was born. This website also gave great amounts of
information about Meriwethers early life and what he did growing up. This
website gave information on his great exploration and what he did to
contribute.
Biography.com Editors. William Clark Biography. Biography. n.p., Web. 5
Nov. 2015. http://www.biography.com/
The website Biography.com gave information of William Clarks early life.
Some examples are where he was born and what he did growing up. This
website also gave information about the Lewis and Clark Expedition and
what he did to help contribute to the journey. There is also information of
William Clarks after life.
Briney, Amanda. "Lewis and Clark." About Education. n.p., Web. 5 Nov. 2015.
http://geography.about.com/
Geography.about.com gave information going all the the Louisiana Purchase
which started the exploration. There is also information on the goals of the
exploration. Also what happened during the exploration and many important
events that happened like dividing and when they reached Portland and also
when they returned.
Buckley, Jay. "Expedition from May 14, 1804, to October 16, 1805."
Encyclopedia Britannica
Online. n.p., Web. 5 Nov. 2015.
http://www.britannica.com/
The preparation of the exploration is very important and this website
provides all of the information about what happened while they were
preparing for this long exploration and all of the things that they needed to
collect. This website also gave many amount of detail about the exploration.

Freitas 12

Delms, J. "Lewis & Clark Expedition - Hardships and Dangers Faced

Routinely." Enzine Articles.
n.p., Web. 5 Nov. 2015.
http://ezinearticles.com/
There were many things that kept the Corps of Discovery from doing what
they had to. They faced many different hardships during their exploration.
They faced things such as diseases, poisons and toxins, and also personal
space. This website gave information on what they did to overcome some of
these hardships.
"Lewis and Clark Expedition." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. n.p., Web. 5
Nov. 2015. http://en.wikipedia.org/
This website gave plenty of basic facts on the expedition. This website also
gave details and information on the exploration and who they encountered.
There is also many amounts of information on their results and their
geographical encounters. There is also information about Sacagawea and
how she helped.
"The Native Americans" Lewis & Clark Expedition - Hardships and Dangers
Faced Routinely. PBS. n.p., Web. 5 Nov. 2015. http://www.pbs.org/
This website gave significant information on the meeting ceremonies that
they performed every time they came encounter with another tribe. This
website also gave information on the significant interactions they had with
certain tribes. There is also some information about some of the different
tribes they met.
"NebraskaStudies.Org." NebraskaStudies.Org. n.p., Web. 5 Nov. 2015.
http://www.nebraskastudies.org/
This website proved to be a lot of help giving a lot of information on the
effects that their exploration caused. It gives information on the people it
affected and ho benefited from it. This website also gives the changes that
ended up happening because of this great exploration.
Taylor, Quintard. United States History: Timeline: 1800-1900. University of
Washington. n.p., Web. 5 Nov. 2015. http://faculty.washington.edu/
This website gave information on what other things were going on during the
time of the Lewis and Clark exploration. This website helped me realize how
important this exploration was during the time.

Freitas 13

United States. National Park Service. "Preparing for the Journey--Lewis and
Clark Expedition: National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary."
National Parks Service. n.p., . Web. 5 Nov. 2015. http://www.nps.gov/
Nps.gov gave many information and plenty of details of what was going on
during the preparation of the exploration. It gave details on what and who
was in charge and where different letters were sent. It also gives information
on who was involved.