APush Book Report, Lewis and Clark Among the Indians

Introduction: The book I read was Lewis and Clark Among the Indians: By James P. Rhonda. It included a lot of other information that helped me understand Lewis and Clarks view towards the Indians. It introduced me to a new name of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, the Corps of Discovery. This book was written in the 3rd person as a narrative. It was written for the purpose of informing the reader of the Corps of Discovery and its major components, also to help the reader understand the relationships between whites and Indians. Before starting this book, the reader does not have to have any prior knowledge of Lewis and Clark, since this book was very informative.
Short Summary: At the beginning of this book, Thomas Jefferson is trying to find people to be a part of this journey. He knew that the people who he chose to head this expedition had to be intelligent, and he wanted army-officers. He had a very long and detailed list of things he wanted Lewis and Clark to accomplish, a list that he revised many times. He wanted them to get accurate information about the Indians so that we could live peacefully with them. He also wanted to get more information to know how America should proceed with the expansion and with the buying and selling that many would like to happen with the West. Lewis and Clark were supposed to take detailed notes on “medicine, Indian customs, and values… crime, suicide, and intoxication… native American worship practices, sacred objects, and burial rituals.” The expedition struggled during the winter, when they were exploring the Upper Missouri region. Progress was made though, when one village smoked with Clark. Later, Lewis and Clark also promised to bring different tribes American made goods. Lewis and Clark also tried to help settle differences between some tribes, such as a peace treaty they wrote up. Some of the things like this that they did were not well received by the tribes, and were probably perceived as meddling. Lewis and Clark