Lewis and Clark Notes

• In 1803, President Jefferson purchased the Louisiana Territory for $15 million. Although it doubled the size of the country, Jefferson did not really know what the territory contained. He chose his personal secretary, Meriwether Lewis to lead the journey to explore the land.
• Jefferson felt Lewis would make a good explorer because of his knowledge of medicine, botany, zoology, and celestial navigation.
• Lewis chose a friend, William Clark, to be a co-commander on the expedition. He was known for his experience as a map-maker, nature artist, and riverboat captain. He was also known for his skills in the areas of hunting, tracking, camping, and land navigation.
• Jefferson set out five major goals for Lewis and Clark's expedition. They were:

  • To follow the Missouri River and find its sources
  • To find a water route to the Pacific Ocean, known as the "Northwest Passage"
  • To learn about the Native Americans' customs and culture
  • To write about and draw newly discovered plants and animals
  • To learn about the climate, soil, and terrain of the land
• Joining them on the trip would be a crew of twenty-one riverboatmen, eighteen soldiers, Clark's slave and a French interpreter.
• The crew had three boats, one long Keelboat, and two smaller boats known as Pirogues. In May of 1804, the group left from Independence, Missouri
• The Native Americans were very intrigued by Clark's slave, named York, because they had never before seen a person of African descent. Also, he was given the right to vote in decisions made by the group, a right African Americans were not given in society.
• The journey up the Missouri River was difficult because the group was traveling against the current and often had to pull the boat with ropes from shore.
• As winter approached, they made camp with a tribe of Native Americans called the Mandan people, in what is now the state of North Dakota.
• During their five months stay, they met a French fur trapper (Toussaint Charbonneau) and his pregnant Native American wife, Sacagawea. They would join the group on their journey and their son, Jean Baptiste, was born during the trip.
• Soon the group reached a fork in the river and had to choose a direction. They decided to head South, toward the Great Falls. Once they reached this location, it took them one month to travel around the five waterfalls.
• Once around the falls, they encountered the Rocky Mountains. It was at this time that they realized the Northwest Passage did not exist and they would have to travel by horse.
• Sacagawea helped them to trade with the Shoshone tribe for these, as her brother was the chief. They then traveled across the Bitterroot Mountains and over the Continental Divide. This was the most difficult part of the trip. They ran out of food and had to resort to eating things such as candles and horses.
• In November of 1805, the group finally reached the Pacific Ocean. They built a fort called Fort Clatsop in honor of the Natives that assisted them. They headed home four months later in March of 1806. Lewis and CLark split up on the way home, with Clark following the Yellowstone River and Lewis the Missouri River. After returning Sacagawea and family to the Mandan Village, they arrived home in Saint Louis in September of 1806.
• They headed home four months later in March of 1806. Lewis and Clark split up on the way home, with Clark following the Yellowstone River and Lewis the Missouri River. After returning Sacagawea and family to the Mandan Village, they arrived home in Saint Louis in September of 1806.
• The crew had gathered information on 178 new plants, 122 new animals, and 40 different Native American tribes. Lewis was named Governor of the Lousiiana Territory, but died poor and under mysterious circumstances in 1809. Clark was later appointed governor of Missouri but he died in 1838.
• Sacagawea sent her son to live with Clark so that he could gain a better education. Her date of death is disputed, with some believing she died in 1812 (age 24) and others 1884 (age 95).