What Is The Thesis Statement For The Lewis And Clark Expedition

Cross 1

Will Cross
Mrs. Felton
English 10 ­ Block 1
11 April 2014
The Lewis and Clark Expedition
Thesis Statement: Because of America’s need to expand, The Lewis and Clark Expedition, led by
Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, introduced the country to previously uncharted territory and was a benchmark for change in America.
I.

Cultural context
A. Need to expand (Gunderson 4­5).
B. Hiding from France and Spain (Gunderson 6­7, Huntington 1).

II.

Important person(s)
A. Meriwether Lewis
1. Secretary to the president (Huntington 2).
2. Asked to head expedition (“History and Culture: People” 2).
B. William Clark
1. Lewis recruiting Clark (Huntington 2).
2. Clark’s promotion refused (Huntington 2, Gunderson 8­9).
3. Clark’s slave, York (“History and Culture: People” 7).
Don’t put yourselves or the native peoples in danger’” (qtd in Huntington 3).

Cross 5

On May 14th, 1804 Lewis and Clark launched their boats into the Missouri River at St.
Louis; along with them their forty two men (Gunderson 10­12). “Lewis and Clark Expedition” states that Lewis purchased a dog for twenty dollars, named him Seaman, and brought him along
(1).
In “The Lewis and Clark Expedition," author Perry states:
Jefferson hoped that Lewis and Clark would find a water route linking the
Columbia and Missouri rivers. This water link would connect the Pacific Ocean with the Mississippi River system, thus giving the new western land access to port markets out of the Gulf of Mexico and to eastern cities along the Ohio River and its minor tributaries. At the time, American and European explorers had only penetrated what would become each end of the Lewis and Clark Trail up the
Missouri several miles to the trapper headquarters at Fort Mandan and up the
Columbia just a bit over a hundred miles to a point a little beyond present­day
Portland, Oregon. (1)
Gunderson, author of
The Lewis and Clark Expedition
, notes that Lewis and Clark traveled over six hundred miles during the first two months of the expedition without seeing
Sacagawea was born as a Shoshone, but she was kidnaped as a young child and then raised as a member of the Hidatsa. She was taught their language, in which her name was pronounced “Sacagawea” meaning “Bird Woman” instead of the original
“Sacajawea” meaning “Boat Pusher.” Sacagawea and Charbonneau both wanted to come along with Lewis and Clark on the expedition, but Sacagawea was pregnant. The Corps of Discovery were staying with the Mandans for the winter; the same winter that Sacagawea gave birth to a boy that Charbonneau named Jean Baptiste. When spring came and the ice melted, on April 7, 1805,
Lewis and Clark sent maps, plants, and animals back to Jefferson. That same day The Corps of
Discovery continued their journey west, now with Sacagawea, Charbonneau and the baby boy who Clark nicknamed “Pomp.” Clark said that the baby reminded him of the Roman general
Pompey, and he grew very fond of the child (Marcovitz 4­6, Gunderson 14­15).
The expedition continued until June 2, 1805 when the Corps came to a fork in the river.
They ended up choosing the south fork and traveled it until they reached the Great Falls almost two weeks later. The group was forced to portage (moving the boat out of the water and across