Lewis and Clark Expedition in Essay

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The Shoshone bartered with them for horses which the team would need to cross the Rockies and for information relating to the pass routes used by the Nez Perce (Lewis and Clark). With this help, the expedition found a suitable pass in the fall of 1805 along the Montana/Idaho border. However, food was extremely scarce, the horses were not in great condition and the passing through the Rockies proved to be altogether difficult. Still, they did get through, this becoming the first white men to successful travel across the continental divide (Discovering Lewis).

After descending the Rockies, the team used the Columbia River to navigate west into the Oregon territory. The expedition is credited with 'discovering' the inland portions of the Columbia and its significant tributary, the Snake River, which are the two dominant rivers in the Northwest (Lewis and Clark). The discovery and charting of these two rivers led to the re-mapping of the Northwest. Also, unlike the journey upriver along the Missouri, the team now had the current of the mighty Columbia at their backs, a welcome relief for the tired and weary crew (Lewis and Clark).

The Final Leg West

Along the Columbia, the expedition seemed to be zooming towards the Pacific, however in November of 1805 they were hit by a fierce storms of raging winds and rising waters which basically stunted their progress for three weeks. Finally in late November 1805, the team reached the Pacific. The team stayed on the west coast during that winter, hoping to be able o secure passage on a trading ship they knew to frequent the mouth of the Columbia. However, they were unable to, so in the early spring of 1806 they started re-tracing their steps to head home (The Journals).

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The Voyage Home

Their strategy was to arrive at the Rockies late enough so that the snow and ice on the pass had melted, yet arrive back at the Missouri before the oncoming winter (still several months away) started freezing the river. Upon crossing the Rockies on the voyage home, the expedition split up as Lewis and his team explored the Marias River, to the north, and Clark and his men the Yellowstone River to the south. This was done to explore even more of the Louisiana territory (Lewis and Clark). After both parties survived somewhat hostile encounters with local Indian tribes, they were reunited at the west border of the Dakotas (where one of Clark's men inadvertently shot and wounded Lewis). With the Missouri current now at their backs, they bid adieu to Charbonneau and Sacagawea at Fort Mandan, hurried through hostile Sioux territory and in September of 1806 cruised back into St. Louis to a heroes' welcome (Lewis and Clark).

Conclusion

Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery helped the burgeoning nation understand exactly the nature and the extent of the resources it had at its disposal. The expedition not only found a navigable, if not always safe or pleasant, route from the country's western civilized edge (Missouri) to the Pacific Ocean. This was a vital step in opening up the continent to further expansion and developing the United States as a two ocean empire. In addition, the Corps of Discovery unearthed for the nation the vast array of stunning and awesome natural resources that lay untouched and at the nation's fingertips. The expedition helped frame an optimism for future American dominance that would become known as Manifest Destiny.

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