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Louis And Clark Westward Expansion Essay

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Westward Expansion

The Louis and Clark expedition best represents the start to Westward expansion following the end of the American Revolution in 1783. The Westward expansion began when Thomas Jefferson strived for expansion in order to form trade routes from the Atlantic to Pacific. The expedition of Louis and Clark took a total of 2 years and 4 months, covering 8,000 miles. They traveled the Missouri and Columbia river until they reached their destination. The long time period of travel had a tremendous effect on American history and society. In Captain Lewis and Clark’s famous expedition, they successfully made it across the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean, opening the previously occupied western region for trade routes. Their unforgettable adventure led to the first reports of the American West. Over the course of the exhibition Lewis and Clark interacted with almost 50 different tribes. The trail of tears, fewer than 10 tribes were interacted with and they were just forced to move. While exploring the land …show more content…

It kindled westward expansion, started the disposition of American Indians and changed nature. It was more than removal of Indians, but becoming familiar with this new purchase of land. It was a turning point from the “Euro-American” perspective. Previous to the Exhibition the united states was only 17 states and 4 territories. During the adventure Clark drew maps of the west and Lewis recorded details about mammals and plants they encountered. Both kept a sort of diaries or written journals including the Indian encounters. The exhibition gained knowledge of western geography and the Native people. This knowledge fueled the American Fur trade and encouraged mountain men to make discoveries and inspired the Government to explore more in the west. As more exploration occurred, the more appealing settling in the West

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Undaunted Courage by Steven Ambrose is written about the exploration of the West by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. Thomas Jefferson, president of the United States, decided to send Lewis on this exploration, and Lewis chose to take Clark along with him. Many people criticized Jefferson because westward expansion had been tried before and failed. Others argued that he shouldn’t be allowed to purchase land with their tax dollars. Ambrose argues that Jefferson made the correct decision in choosing Lewis to explore the land that makes up Louisiana, Arkansas, parts of northeastern Texas, Oklahoma, eastern Colorado, and Minnesota (Kindle Locations 92-93).

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Lewis and Clark’s expedition was a bit different from Pike’s. While Lewis and Clark were exploring the northern part of the Louisiana Purchase, Pike on the other hand was exploring the southern parts. Throughout Lewis and Clark’s expedition they were able to make a connection with the native tribes. By becoming friends with the Natives this showed Lewis and Clark the land that the US would start moving into. During their expedition they cataloged 108 botanical and zoological specimens, 68 mineral specimens, as well as Clark’s map of the US.

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Lewis and Clark were known for an incredible journey that changed US history. The journey increased the size of the US dramatically. From May 14, 1804, to September 23, 1806, a dangerous but yet history changing exploration occurred. Through many dangerous situations and hardships, the expedition of Lewis and Clark turned out a success.

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In 1803, Lewis and Clark set on a journey to the Pacific Ocean so that they could find a waterway connecting the ocean and the Missouri River. This expedition would change many americans lives and this would make the United States a populated country. This would teach people about land that nobody has any idea about. This would give people an idea of where they are living.

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Jefferson along with many of Americans wanted the expedition to start so he tried many times and made many sacrifices for it to be started. Thomas and Jefferson had tried many times to get the journey started to explore westward but everyone he sent before Lewis and Clark had died so he did not want to start another expedition but America needed to expand and needed the resources that could have been westward so he allowed Lewis to start the expedition. The north and the south had different views of what the new land westward could be used for, the majority of the south said, “They looked to west for new and cheaper lands, especially in the rich virgin soil beyond the mountains.” and the north also said, “western empire could serve as a vast reservation for the Indians displaced from the east of the river. There they could learn to farm and become civilized, so that they could be incorporated into the body of the politic.”

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People normally wouldn’t think about the importance that two people had on this world from over 200 years ago. Have you ever thought about the impact that these two men, Lewis and Clark had on our world, and how they might’ve changed things for the United States? Most likely not. These two men set out on a journey that lasted 2 years and 4 months to search for a land route to the Pacific, to strengthen American claims to the Oregon territory, also to gather more information about the inhabitants and country of the Far West. You may not think these two men have any importance to today but, they discovered many things that this world knows today.

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The Lewis and Clark expedition was a turning point in American history. It radically expanded our current knowledge of what used to be the Louisiana Territory. When thinking of this expedition, most forget that many people accompanied Lewis and Clark. Each member had important jobs and roles that may have drastically increased the aqusition of knowledge. There were even cases of incredulous misbehavior with appropriate punishments, and of course, along the way deaths occurred.

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Meriwether Lewis and William Clark led thirty-three people on the most dangerous journey west from the Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean. Those leaders commanded the Corps of Discovery through starvation in the Rockies, created peace between natives and white men, and achieved an unparalleled exploration that mankind has never repeated. Meriwether Lewis was born on August 18, 1774, in Charlottesville, Virginia. Lewis was an avid outdoorsman in his childhood; he spent his time hunting and exploring. After his childhood exploring, he became more comfortable with being out away from civilization.

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With mention to all of the following text, including “There Is No True History of the Westward Expansion”, Morgan’s emphasis is clear that big and small, heroes and villains and thousands of figures claimed a huge role in westward expansion. In the early 1800’s in the United States, Thomas Jefferson, David Crockett, Kit Carson, other famous figures, and the thousands of unnamed and un-heard of Americans in the United States at the time played huge roles in expanding America’s territory in the Westward Expansion movement to gain America new land and new opportunities and to gain the birth rights Americans rightfully earned by standing up for what they believed in and following their strong leaders such as Jefferson. History see’s achievements

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There were many challenges when exploring, one of them was the weather. If it was too hot, you could acquire a stroke, or you could run out of water and dehydrate; If it was too cold you could acquire frostbite. There were wild animals like bears, wolves, and snakes, there were also geographic obstacles like mountains and rivers, there were natural disasters as well. William Clark affected at least 80,000,000 people, I know this because the west coast is populated by 47,800,000 people, and the Journey of Discovery covered the middle of the country as well, all of those people wouldn’t have been able to move out there, if the Lewis and Clark expedition hadn’t explored that area and made maps. Without William Clark, America would be much less populated.

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George Rogers Clark once said: “If a country were not worth protecting, it was not worth claiming.” Nearly everyone knows how the United States gained recognition as an independent nation after the Revolutionary War. George Washington and his men fought to free the States in the East; however, few people know the story of how the country swelled in size. During the Revolutionary War, the actions of George Rogers Clark’s expedition, west of the Appalachian mountains, would later prove necessary for peace and expansion of the country’s frontiers. The future conqueror of the West grew up in Virginia, one of ten children of John Clark and Ann Rogers.

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In Corps of Discover, 2016, “Although it was not successful, “Lewis and Clark achieved an impressive record of peaceful cooperation with the Indians and generated American interest in the fur trade” (Corps of Discover, 2016). On April 7, 1805 the Lewis and Clark exploration provided all gathered information from the trip and sent it to Missouri making the expedition results vitally important to the nations growth by providing information from the crews hard work (Corps of Discover, 2016). As rightfully noted in The Lewis and Clark Expedition, 2016, “The Lewis and Clark Expedition are often called the greatest adventure in American history. ”(The Lewis and Clark Expedition, 2016), and as

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Would you move Westward? The Westward Expansion is when several of people moved West for the gold rush. Not many people become rich! Many people do go though! I would stay and not move Westward because it’s difficult and might die/get injured, I might not find gold, and it’s a long journey!

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In conclusion, the westward expansion was one of the most important times in American history but one of the hardest for those who made the journey. The settlers had to go through a lot of hardships to get a new life in the west. The Gold Rush helped bring people to the west and populate California so it became a state. People such as Sacagawea helped Lewis and Clark helped explore the new terrain and make maps so people could live there. Even though the pioneers got diseases, had conflicts with the Native Americans, and had to travel for long periods of time in a ship or covered wagon, they never gave up hope.

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The Westward Expansion all started when America made the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. There were many benefits from the purchase for the US that the French didn’t realize before they sold it. The purchase gave the US access to the Mississippi river which allowed for expansion of river trade to the North and South from the center of the US. The port city of New Orleans was bought by the US and its prosperity benefited the US greatly. The US sent Lewis and Clark west to investigate the land they purchased.

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