Lewis And Clark Essay, Research Paper

By the late 1700’s, the young United States began to look westward and dream about the possibilities it presented. They wondered if there was in fact an all water route from the Mississippi to the Pacific, what the whole continent actually looked like, and really, what was out there. There were many individual and groups of people that helped pave an opening for the eventual settlement of the American west. Two of the most recognizable and important groups that opened up the west were the Lewis & Clark expedition and the group of fur traders known as the mountain men, for their chosen lifestyle.

The west and all of its treasures were a great mystery to the people of the United States around the turn of the 19th century. As far as the Native Americans were concerned, the west was their home, and tey already had explored and discovered much of its treasures. These native peoples had already established extensive trade networks amongst themselves, which worked to unify the continent. These native people also developed very complex societies, complete with governments, working economies, and all other things we would consider a present day society to consist of. They felt that the lands, which the United States wished to discover, belonged to them since they have been living there for many centuries. The Native Americans weren’t the only ones existing in the West. Many European explorers had tried to explore the west in order to acquire great amounts of wealth. French and British were already trading with the Indians in the Oregon territory by the late 1700’s. Due of all of this interaction, European diseases began to overtake the Native population, killing thousands all across the west. This greatly decreased their numbers and made future exploration and expansion into the region easier.

Thomas Jefferson became the president of the United States on March 4th 1801. By this time trade between the Americans and the Indians was going on and even increasing. Jefferson desperately wanted to create a continental empire stretching from one ocean to the other. He also realized that before his empire could be created he must explore the territory to the west of the existing nation. Jefferson’s existing nation was roughly one thousand square miles, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River, and from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico. Yet, only a small area was actually occupied, mostly along the eastern seaboard of the country. Beyond the Appalachian Mountains, there were few roads, and very few people actually lived out there. Most Americans believed that settlement beyond the mountains was virtually impossible and were content with living along the coast. Jefferson envisioned an empire stretching from the Atlantic Ocean all the way to the Pacific Ocean. To achieve this goal he purchased what would later become his greatest legacy as a president, the purchase of the Louisiana territory, a vast amount of land west of the Mississippi River, for which he grossly underpaid France. With this purchase complete, he more than immediately doubled the size of the country, and began to recognize his dream of continental expansion. Besides the acquisition of land, he also believed that the country could be connected from the Atlantic Ocean, all the way to the Pacific Ocean by way of a water passage. He knew that if this passage actually existed it would mean he could control the whole continent. These two things, among other ideas, are what prompted the President to construct the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Jefferson had already sent out two expeditions to explore the west and both failed miserably, for this reason he was determined to get this expedition right the first time. He hand selected Meriwether Lewis to lead the expedition, and was personally involved in just about every aspect of the preparations. Lewis was sent to the best teachers in the country in the fields of astronomy, botany, and other relevant sciences. Even though he was under tremendous time pressures, he was some how able to develop an expeditionary party, study all the necessary lessons, purchase all the necessary tools, and take care of personal matters. Before Lewis could take one step on this most extraordinary journey, he and Jefferson had to convince Congress to allow the expedition to take place. To achieve this end Jefferson, with the help of some of his cabinet members, drafted specific instructions which Lewis, and eventually Clark were to follow exactly. Their biggest adversaries were the Federalists in Congress who weren’t to pleased with the cost of the expedition. To get around this issue, Attorney General Lincoln devised a plan to include as one of the primary reasons “to find out as much as possible about the Indian religions, as it may help those who may endeavor to civilize & instruct them.”(Ambrose p.93) Another important contribution of Lincolns was the notion of retreat instead of confrontation in the face of severe adversity. The only other cabinet member who added a significant item to the original instructions was the secretary of the treasury, Albert Gallatin, who wanted to know more about Spanish trading posts in the south, and British trading activity along the Missouri River. Jefferson incorporated both of these men’s ideas into the final purpose of the expedition, handed to both Lewis and Congress. They included: number one to find the all water route to the pacific ocean beginning with the Missouri River and to follow any routes necessary to achieve this goal. Explore all the surrounding flora, and fauna, and take extensive notes. Discover as much as he could about British shipping routes, how and with whom they traded, as well as if America could take over the dominance of Britain in this area. Create detailed maps of all areas using celestial observations for precise longitude and latitude. Discover as much about the Indian population as humanly possible. Upon reaching the Pacific coast Lewis was to seek out a European trading vessel and sail back to the United States, or send his notes with two men on the vessel and walk back along the same route. Jefferson also provided a letter of credit to Lewis so that he would be able to purchase anything he wished wherever he could, using the money of the United States. Included in this letter of credit were instructions to any and all U.S. agency Lewis might call upon for assistance to fully cooperate with him on direct order of the President. These were the basic premises of the expedition, with the understanding by Lewis to undertake any other activity that might be beneficial to the United States. Now the expedition had its parameters, blessing from Congress, and was ready to get underway.

On August 31st, 1803, well over a month behind schedule already, Lewis set off with his expedition from Pittsburgh, sailing down the Ohio to Clarksville, Kentucky, where he would pick up his co-leader of the expedition, William Clark. The leg of the journey from Pittsburgh to Clarksville was incredibly difficult and slow going due to the fact that the river level had fallen significantly, and navigating it by boat was incredibly difficult. On October 15th, he found Clark, and so began the expedition, the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The expedition decided to spend that winter at Camp Wood, along the Missouri river in Present day Illinois. Throughout the next two years, the expedition made significant scientific discoveries, and mapped much of the Missouri river as well as much of the western half of the present day United States. Clark being the military mind of the expedition was very concerned with the threat that the Indians posed to the expedition and made sure that the expedition was very apt at firing a rifle, as well as making sure that everything was very well armed. Lewis was mostly the naturalist on this expedition, making long solitary walks into the wilderness to collect samples to send back to Jefferson in Washington, observing in great detail the lay of the land and what was there, as well as mapping as much of it as best he could. Both Lewis and Clark were exquisite writers and take extensive notes on everything they saw. These notes allowed both people in Washington to share in the discovery of new places as well as for people today to see what it was like to see something like this for the first time. These notes eventually become the basis for the Ambrose book Undaunted Courage.

The expedition also met many and various Native Americans that they traded with, studied, and even made friends with some. One of these friends was a woman by the name of Sacagawea, who turned out to be invaluable as both a guide and as an interpreter and a sign of peace with the other Indian nations. The expedition hired Sacagawea at Fort Mandan on the Missouri in Present day N. Dakota. Her and her husband were to go with the expedition and act as translators between them and various other Indian tribes of the west. She did this very well and proved to be extremely valuable to the whole expedition.

The expedition as a whole collected various samples of both flora, and fauna, which greatly helped the developing nation to grow and expand. The expedition did make it all the way to the Pacific Ocean following various rivers, and created the belief that it can be done, the continent can be crossed. They set up relationships with various Indian tribes, as well as foreign traders. This worked to lay the groundwork for the eventual trading relationships used by travelers along the Oregon Trail. The riches of the country know included a lot of unclaimed and unsettled land as well as an abundance of furs, Lewis also told of the many riches of the continent that the country ought to take advantage of. If it wasn’t for the heroics of Lewis and Clark, as well as the rest of the men in the expedition, and the writings of Lewis, The young United States may not have known what the west had to offer before it was too late.

The other important group of people that opened up the west was already operating around the same time as the Lewis and Clark expeditions were underway, and are generally credited with being the pathfinders of America and the true adventurers. This group of individuals, made some of the most significant discoveries and explorations of the west, without the help and backing of a huge and powerful government behind them. They collectively were known as “mountain men,” the rugged, wandering loners who traveled the western mountains and forests in search of furs to trade. Throughout their quest for fur they walked all over the west, and often paved new trails in the wilderness. For the most part, they were the first white people to see many of the wonders of the western half of the continent, and chart these wonders and landmarks, and are often credited with exploring the western two-thirds of the nation. They were the first to cross the Rockies as well. These men often lived more like Indians than how we would have thought civilized white men should have been living like. They lived a solitary life up in the mountains or forests, acting as trappers and trying to obtain as many furs as possible. In some cases, they even became Indians, such as James Beckworth who married Indian girls. The life of a mountain man was very tough and dangerous and those who did survive the harshness of winter in the mountains congregated in select mountain valleys to party, drink, trade their furs, and get supplies for the nest year in the mountains.

Many of these mountain men made significant discoveries and contributions to exploration. Men such as John Colthrip, who is credited with being the first mountain man and the first to explore the west on foot, really paved the way for the eventual exploration and discovery that took place. He explored the present day states of Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana, as well as being the first to see the wonders of Yellowstone. Another mountain man, Jim Bridger, was the first to see the Great Salt Lake. When he went back and told others of this, he was considered crazy. Joe Walker was probably the greatest mountain man of all time. He discovered the most important path from the Sierra Nevada’s all the way to California, found the Santa Fe Trail, was the first to see Yosemite Valley, was the first white man to see the giant sequoia tree of the west, and also discovered a river route across Northern Nevada to the coast. No other man can say that he alone discovered so many important things in terms of land, and routes across the continent. Another great mountain man was Jebediah Smith, who is recognized as being the greatest fur trapper of all time. During his lifetime, he wandered over more of the west than any other man in history. He was the first to travel from the Rocky Mountains to California, was the first to travel across the Sierra Nevada’s, the first to go from southern California to the Southwestern portion of the United States, and he crossed the Mohabib dessert and found a new route to California. This isn’t a complete list of all the mountain men, just a few of the ones that made some of the most significant discoveries for our country. Without these men and men like them, this country would have never been able to grow as we have.

Today we as a nation take the western half of the United States for granted, but to the developing nation, it represented the great frontier, similar as to what space is too us today. Without the pioneering efforts of all the mountain men, and Lewis and Clark, we may never have been able to call the western half of the continent ours. These two groups, and others, truly opened up the west for settlement and exploitation by the United States. Lewis and Clark actually laid out what the west was, how to get there, and where to go. The mountain men explored all the little nooks and crannies of the continent. The efforts of these two groups are what eventually led to the massive migration of the population across the continent, and they should be recognized as true American heroes.

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