The Lewis/Clark Expedition

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Meriwether Lewis and William Clark led the expedition to survey the land West of Mississippi, known as Louisiana Territory placed at the request of President Thomas Jefferson. Lewis and Clark and their expedition began their journey near St. Louis Missouri, in May 1804.
One of the goals during their expedition was in establishing contact Indian groups. Throughout their expedition, they developed a ritual that they used when meeting a tribe for the first time. Firstly, the captains will explain to the tribal leaders that their land now belonged to the United States, and that a man far in the east which was President Thomas Jefferson, was their new “great father”. Then they would also give the Indians a peace medal with Jefferson on one side and two hands clasping on the other, as well as some form of presents. Moreover, the Corps members would perform a kind of parade marching in uniform and shooting their guns. (The Native Americans. …show more content…

During the time of the expedition members of the corps encountered at least 55 different native cultural groups. One of the real test came the Teton Sioux on September 25, 1804. Attempting to sail through a portion of the Missouri River in present-day South Dakota controlled by the Teton people, who members of the expedition are found themselves in a standoff with swords, arrows, guns, and cannons threatening to settle the matter. (United States. National Park Service. (n.d.). The Lewis & Clark Expedition --Reading 1. Retrieved February 23, 2016, from http://www.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/108lewisclark/108facts1.htm)
The Lewis and Clark expedition resulted in a couple of discoveries and observations of more than 300 plants and animals. A few examples are the Grizzly Bear, the American Bison, Mountain Lions, Coyote, Wolverine, Elk, Prairie Dog, Mountain Goat, and the Whooping Crane. Besides these there were many other species of plants and animals that were