Historical Scholarship: The Historical Significance and Influence of the Lewis and Clark Expedition

 

The Historical Significance and Influence of the Lewis and Clark Expedition

History often remembers the Lewis and Clark Expedition simply as a trek across the American west. As a prerequisite to Westward Expansion, the work of the Corps of Discovery was essential to planning the expansion of American society. However, it has also represented a very complex and culturally transformative mission. The Louisiana Purchase was a territory acquired from France by Thomas Jefferson on July 4,1803. This land addition doubled the sized of the US territory, and President Jefferson had plans to explore the region. The purchase of the Louisiana Territory from France by Thomas Jefferson marked the beginning of subsiding the added land for settlement purposes and the allocation of natural resources. Jefferson appointed first Meriwether Lewis, then William Clark to lead the Corps of Discovery on the expedition. Because of this exploration, Lewis and Clark were able to map the American West, which helped to influence the policies which were created to support the beginning of Westward Expansion. It also contributed to the displacement of several Indigenous communities and to the disruption of their cultural existence.

Economic turmoil in the French government facilitated the purchase of the Louisiana Territory by Thomas Jefferson from France. The addition of this land that had been previously claimed by the French added an enormous amount of settlement land rich with natural resources, less than 50 years after the Revolutionary War. President Thomas Jefferson’s ideals of Enlightenment, along with his desire for agrarian expansion and scientific discovery, catalyzed the purchase of the Louisiana Territory and the plan to settle it. “He understood the strategic importance of the central Mississippi Valley and control of its tributary river systems for the independence and prosperity of the new republic, and he had no doubt that the influence of the American revolutionary achievement would one day reach the Pacific and even transform the southern American continent. In addition, he perceived in America a rich field for scientific investigation, where nature's laws might be confirmed and its long-held secrets revealed.”[1] On July 29, 1803, Jefferson appointed Meriwether Lewis to head the Discovery Corps on expedition. Lewis and Clark began planning for the exploration of the Louisiana Territory on August 31, 1803. They gathered necessary supplies and planned routes, along with other details of the excursion. Lewis and Clark’s first charge was to carry out directives in their preparation for the assembling of the Corps of Discovery, which consisted of American soldiers, language interpreters, hunters, and an enslaved African named York, who assisted on the mission. “We do know that York was born into slavery to Clark’s family and raised with Clark as his personal slave. […] Clark’s decision to take his slave on the expedition was not due to his enlightened sense of fairness but was likely a nondecision; where a gentleman slave owner went, so too did his ‘manservant.’”^[2] Together, these explorers readied themselves to cross the challenging landscape, unaware of the extreme weather conditions and encounters with Indigenous tribes they would experience along the route.

After completing the preparation, Lewis, Clark, and the Corps of Discovery began their expedition on May 4, 1804. The Corps of Discovery carried out orders to explore the Louisiana territory to the Pacific Ocean along with Lewis and Clark, as they surveyed the terrain and all that it inhabited. They had an ultimate goal of finding a viable course to the Pacific Ocean, preferably along a water route. However, their expedition traveled mostly by land through the plains of the Midwest. Jefferson had a sense of urgency with respect to the exploration of the western territory, with an intention to claim the land before it could be colonized by a European power. He knew that an increased number of possible paths for commerce would result in an increase of the US economy. In addition to the economic promise he imagined, President Jefferson had interest in the wildlife and geography of the new territory, as well as the lives and customs of the Indigenous communities present in the west. “Under his guidance Lewis and Clark dispelled much of the mystery of the West, but they also staked a serious American claim on the Pacific.”[3] Lewis and Clark were expected to produce accurately detailed cartography and written accounts of their expedition, making the mission scientific as well as ethnographic.

During the summer of 1804, Lewis and Clark began talks and negotiations with Indigenous tribes present in the plains territory. This enabled trade and other positive negotiations for a more productive expedition for the Discovery Corps. During their encounters with Indigenous tribes, the Corps of Discovery worked to create and maintain diplomatic relations with Indigenous Nations that would allow for safe passage and trade negotiations, to the pleasure of President Jefferson. “He saw the Indians as one factor among many in a world gradually unfolding toward an improved order of life. The process was inexorable, and if the Indian cooperated Jefferson offered him a future.”[4] The Corps offered gifts and peace medals to the Native peoples as an assertion of US sovereignty and made speeches to their elders with hopes of preventing any misunderstandings. However, they were some challenges because of the language barriers. Lewis and Clark interacted with several Indigenous groups along their journey. In their first winter camp, the Corps made contact with the Mandan tribe in 1804, who assisted them in mapping their route over the Rocky Mountains. “Throughout its nearly two and one half years in the field, the expedition actively sought out Indian maps and mapmakers. That search brought Lewis and Clark more than thirty of what Malcolm termed ‘cartographic Lewis devices’.”[5] Later during the same winter, Lewis and Clark were introduced to a Shoshone woman named Sacagawea, who became their language interpreter, conflict mediator, and travel guide. Sacagawea was added to the expedition as a translator for the Corps of Discovery in April 1805. On the expedition, Sacagawea enabled Lewis and Clark to communicate more clearly with the Shoshone tribes, along with adjacent Indigenous tribes on the plains whose language with which she was familiar. Subsequently, these Indigenous tribes would offer to assist the Corps in their exploration.

            As they traveled through the plains, Lewis and Clark encountered numerous geographical obstacles, such as crossing the Rocky Mountains and navigating travel along the Missouri River. During the Summer of 1805, the Corps of Discovery received assistance from local Indigenous tribes crossing the mountains. The Shoshone and Nez Perce Tribes guided Lewis and Clark on their trek through the Rocky Mountain range. This guidance was crucial to the continuation of the expedition, although extremely hazardous, it afforded the Corps of Discovery the ability to record the features of various unfamiliar animal types and to cartograph maps that would give credibility to their written accounts. They were able to incorporate what they learned from the Indigenous maps into their cartographic accounts of tributaries and animal species in the region. “First, there were maps created by Indians either verbally or graphically and then drawn or traced by Lewis and Clark as distinctively Indian maps.”[6] These maps were useful in forecasting the settlement of the American West. Along with their focus on exploration, Lewis and Clark were forced to find ways to survive the brutal winter weather in the plains. During the first winter of the expedition, from the end 1804 through the beginning of 1805, the Corps of Discovery erected Fort Mandan where they were able to maintain army type discipline and organization of the Corps. Because of the construction of Fort Mandan during first winter of the expedition, Lewis, Clark, and Corps were able to collect their experiences up to that point. The fort was shelter until the brutally cold weather permitted further exploration. Once they continued on their route, Lewis and Clark recorded information on the zoology, attributes of the terrain, and encounters with Indigenous tribes. The explorers arrived at the Pacific Ocean on November 15, 1805. Lewis, Clark, and the Corps of Discovery were able to conceive a clear picture of the landscape from their original point in St. Louis on to the Pacific Ocean. After reaching the Pacific Ocean, they created Fort Clatsop to rest and wait out severe weather before returning to St. Louis, Missouri. As the Corps of Discovery sheltered for a second winter, this fort also enabled the Corps to mark a new territory on this trail and begin preparation for the return trip.

         On March 23, 1806, the corps of Discovery commenced their expedition to return to its origin in St. Louis, Missouri. This part of the expedition helped Lewis and Clark to solidify their previously recorded cartography. During this time, they also discovered new resources and surveyed areas along the route that had not been recorded during the beginning exploration. As Lewis and Clark trekked their courses to St. Louis with the Corps of Discovery, they divided into two groups on July 4, 1806, to maximize their exploration. These two groups traveled in different directions, covered more territory, and increased the number of findings to include in the expedition journals; but the separation of the Corps of Discovery left the expedition exposed. In contrast to the amicable relations they had with the Shoshone and Nez Perce tribes, the expedition experienced a conflict with the Blackfeet tribe on the return trip, and a battle between the tribe and Lewis' group ensued on July 26, 1806. Lewis and his group arose from the one conflict to continue the return expedition on to St. Louis, Missouri.

            September 23, 1806, the Corps of Discovery arrived in St. Louis, Missouri, to end their two-year long expedition. A safe return of Lewis and Clark, along with the Corps of Discovery  increased national confidence in Westward Expansion. The explorers’ findings assisted in preparing for settler migration westward. After the expedition ended, Lewis and Clark published their recorded findings in journals, and the first one was made public in 1814. Recorded along the way were expedition maps, environmental observations, and written accounts of the Corps of Discovery's findings. The public’s reception to their return and their findings from the expedition was varied, and it seemed there would be little social or economic impact on American society. However, the long-term benefits of the Lewis and Clark Expedition were not readily obvious, such as its eventual contribution to Manifest Destiny and Westward Expansion. “Although he was in many ways the quintessential modern man, Jefferson's search for knowledge of the uncharted West revealed how dependent he was bound to be on the information and legends bequeathed by past ages. In fact, by reaching the Pacific, his agents Lewis and Clark had fulfilled one of the great quests that had haunted Europeans since Columbus's discovery turned out to be a New World.’[7] American settler migration west did not fare as well for Indigenous Americans due to the resulting dislocation and subsequent conflicts. However, more contemporary histories of the perspectives on this facet of the expedition have expanded to include some Indigenous contributions in the expansion of the American West.

            The examination of the Lewis and Clark Expedition and the contribution of the Corps of Discovery details the development of the United States as country whose territory covered land from the shores of the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean coast. Over 200 plant types and 120 animal classes were recorded along this excursion. Additionally, maps were created in the process which would come to serve as guides for the settlement of the American West. Overall, the expedition was a momentous occurrence in U.S. expansion and scientific discovery. Within this story, there are elements of sacrifice and endurance as well as involvement by the Indigenous peoples who inhabited the route, such as Sacagawea. Currently, Lewis and Clark are renowned in American history for their adventure and courage, and difficult tour of exploration to transform the United States. The Lewis and Clark Expedition is a journey with a complex legacy as a feat of exploration and a catalyst for cultural transformation, and it is a story that offers valuable lessons about exploration, power, and perspective.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sources

Ambrose, Stephen E. Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996.

 

Jackson, Donald. Thomas Jefferson and the Stony Mountains: Exploring the West from Monticello. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1981.

Moulton, Gary E., ed. The Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. 13 vols. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1988.

PILLOW, WANDA S. “Mapping Sex, Race, and Gender in the Corps of Discovery Expedition.” Connexions: Histories of Race and Sex in North America, edited by JENNIFER BRIER, JIM DOWNS, and JENNIFER L. MORGAN, 203–26. University of Illinois Press, 2016. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5406/j.ctt1hd18k1.12.

RONDA, JAMES P. “‘A CHART IN HIS WAY’: INDIAN CARTOGRAPHY AND THE LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION.” Great Plains Quarterly 4, no. 1 (1984): 43–53. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24467602.

Sheehan, Bernard W. Review of JEFFERSON AND THE WEST, by Donald Jackson. The Virginia Quarterly Review 58, no. 2 (1982): 345–52. http://www.jstor.org/stable/26436871.

Slaughter, Thomas P. Exploring Lewis and Clark: Reflections on Men and Wilderness. New York: Vintage Books, 2003.

Slaughter, Thomas P. “Rediscovering Lewis and Clark.” Commonplace: The Journal of Early American Life, October 2003. https://commonplace.online/article/rediscovering-lewis-and-clark.

Unknown Author. “The Lewis and Clark Expedition.—(I.),” Journal of Education Vol. 61 no. 10. March 1905.

Digital Sources

Burns, Ken, Dayton Duncan, and Paul Barnes. Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery. PBS DVD. Hollywood, CA: PBS Distribution, 2004.

“Lewis & Clark: Captains of Discovery.” Into the Wild Frontier: Season 1, Episode 2. July 15, 2023. https://youtu.be/IxJpP1vRooM?si=_kwGfl65-LhPXvqd.

“Lewis & Clark: Explorers of the New Frontier.” Biography Channel, YouTube. Oct 29, 2021. https://youtu.be/DhPBfnDkO2w?si=PMWryr62xX46bWDW.

“The Lewis and Clark Expedition: The Discovery of the US West Coast.” House of History, YouTube Channel. April 5, 2019. https://youtu.be/VFBqGn0aRoU?si=Ze-b-8e_LSmoSQ4K.

Behl, Vikas. “Analyzing Native and European American Perspectives on the Lewis and Clark Expedition.” Discovering Native Histories along the Lewis and Clark Trail (blog). University of Oregon, 2005. https://blogs.uoregon.edu/nativehistories/curriculum/authors/analyzing-native-and-european-american-perspectives-on-the-lewis-and-clark-expedition.

 

---

[1] Bernard Sheehan, Review of JEFFERSON AND THE WEST, by Donald Jackson. The Virginia Quarterly Review 58, no. 2. 1982. http://www.jstor.org/stable/26436871. page 345.

[2] Wanda S. Pillow. “Mapping Sex, Race, and Gender in the Corps of Discovery Expedition.” Connexions: Histories of Race and Sex in North America, edited by JENNIFER BRIER, JIM DOWNS, and JENNIFER L. MORGAN, 203–26. University of Illinois Press, 2016. Page 211. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5406/j.ctt1hd18k1.12.

[3] Ibid. Page 350.

[4] Ibid. Page 351.

[5] James P, Ronda. “‘A CHART IN HIS WAY’: INDIAN CARTOGRAPHY AND THE LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION.” Great Plains Quarterly 4, no. 1. 1984. Page 43. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24467602.

[6] Ronda. Page 44.

[7] Sheehan. Page 348.