The Lewis and Clark Expedition
The Lewis and Clark Expedition sought a direct water route across North America for commerce, with scientific research as a secondary objective.
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The campaign aimed to find a practical water route across the western half of the continent and to establish an American presence before European powers could claim the land.[1] Shortly after the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, President Thomas Jefferson commissioned the expedition to explore and document the newly acquired territory.[1]
Life and work
Jefferson had long maintained an interest in exploring the unknown western region, having read accounts of earlier explorers.[2] Jefferson arranged for Lewis to study medicine with physician Benjamin Rush in Philadelphia and to receive astronomy instruction from Andrew Ellicott.[3] On May 14, 1804, at 4 pm, the Corps of Discovery left Camp Dubois and began traveling up the Missouri River.[4] During the return journey, Lewis's group killed two Blackfeet men in a fight over weapons; Lewis himself shot one of them.[5][6]
On September 23, 1806, the expedition reached St. Louis.[7]
What the cited sources add
The Oregon History Project account states that Lewis shot a Piegan warrior in the stomach after the man turned around with a musket.[6] The National Park Service states that Lewis and Clark decided to cross the Columbia River to find elk, and Lewis scouted a site for winter quarters.[8]
References
- Wikipedia, "Lewis and Clark Expedition" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Woodger, Toropov, 2009 p. 150; Ambrose, 1996, Chap. VI (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Lewis and Clark Expedition" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Ambrose, 1996 p. 69; Gray, 2004 p. 358 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Lewis and Clark Expedition" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Gass & MacGregor, 1807 p. 7; Ambrose, 1996 pp. 79, 89; Duncan, "Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery", Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1997, p. 9–10; Ambrose, "Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West", Simon & Schuster, 1996, p. 81, 87–91 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Lewis and Clark Expedition" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Ambrose, 1996 pp. 137–139; "May 14, 1804 | Discovering Lewis & Clark ®", lewis-clark.org, May 14, 1804 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Lewis and Clark Expedition" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Conflict with the Piegans", Oregon History Project, April 25, 2014; Jenkinson, "Meriwether Lewis' Deadly Encounter", Listening to America, July 22, 2025; "Fight with the Blackfeet", Lewis and Clark.org (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- "Conflict with the Piegans", Oregon History Project, April 25, 2014. facts only, no text reused. oregonhistoryproject.org
- Wikipedia, "Lewis and Clark Expedition" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Peters 1996, p. 16 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- "History & Culture – Lewis and Clark National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service)", nps.gov. facts only, no text reused. nps.gov
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Lewis and Clark Expedition (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Lewis and Clark Expedition (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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