An Explorer's Legacy
The Legacy of Lewis and Clark
After a wet and hungry winter in Oregon, the explorers headed home. In September 1806, two years and four months after setting out, they returned to St. Louis. Lewis proudly wrote to Jefferson, “In obedience to our orders, we have penetrated the Continent of North America to the Pacific Ocean.”
Lewis and Clark had good reason to be proud. They had not found the Northwest Passage, for it did not exist, but they had traveled some 8,000 miles. They had mapped a route to the Pacific. They had established good relations with western Indians. Most of all, they had brought back priceless information about the West and its peoples.
Other explorers added to this legacy and helped prepare the way for the settlement of the West. In 1806, the same year Lewis and Clark returned to St. Louis, 26-year-old army lieutenant Zebulon Pike set out to explore the southern part of the new Louisiana Territory. Pike and his party traveled up the valley of the Arkansas River into present-day Colorado. There, Pike saw the mountain that today is called Pikes Peak.
Pike went on to explore Spanish territory along the Rio Grande and the Red River. His reports of the wealth of Spanish towns brought many American traders to the Southwest. But Pike was not impressed with the landscape. He called the West the “Great American Desert.”
Another famed explorer, John C. Frémont, helped to correct this image. Nicknamed “the Pathfinder,” Frémont mapped much of the territory between the Mississippi Valley and the Pacific Ocean in the 1840s. His glowing descriptions of a “land of plenty” inspired many families to try their luck in the West.
Lewis and Clark had good reason to be proud. They had not found the Northwest Passage, for it did not exist, but they had traveled some 8,000 miles. They had mapped a route to the Pacific. They had established good relations with western Indians. Most of all, they had brought back priceless information about the West and its peoples.
Other explorers added to this legacy and helped prepare the way for the settlement of the West. In 1806, the same year Lewis and Clark returned to St. Louis, 26-year-old army lieutenant Zebulon Pike set out to explore the southern part of the new Louisiana Territory. Pike and his party traveled up the valley of the Arkansas River into present-day Colorado. There, Pike saw the mountain that today is called Pikes Peak.
Pike went on to explore Spanish territory along the Rio Grande and the Red River. His reports of the wealth of Spanish towns brought many American traders to the Southwest. But Pike was not impressed with the landscape. He called the West the “Great American Desert.”
Another famed explorer, John C. Frémont, helped to correct this image. Nicknamed “the Pathfinder,” Frémont mapped much of the territory between the Mississippi Valley and the Pacific Ocean in the 1840s. His glowing descriptions of a “land of plenty” inspired many families to try their luck in the West.
SS.8.A.4.3: Examine the experiences and perspectives of significant individuals and groups during Westward Expansion.
Task: Legacy
FINAL TASK:
In general, a legacy is what we remember about a person, group, or event in history. Your final task challenges you to explore the legacy of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark and their expeditions.
You and your group need to write a sixty second script, poem, or song that sums up the legacy of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. (Role play: Write as though YOU and your team are Lewis and Clark themselves.) Be sure to provide details from the text above.
At the end of class, you and your partner may or may not be asked to stand up as Mr. Lewis and Mr. Clark and explain "your" legacy.
Title this entry "Legacy"
In general, a legacy is what we remember about a person, group, or event in history. Your final task challenges you to explore the legacy of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark and their expeditions.
You and your group need to write a sixty second script, poem, or song that sums up the legacy of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. (Role play: Write as though YOU and your team are Lewis and Clark themselves.) Be sure to provide details from the text above.
At the end of class, you and your partner may or may not be asked to stand up as Mr. Lewis and Mr. Clark and explain "your" legacy.
Title this entry "Legacy"