The Expedition'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.
Directions: Title a new section of your paper "Legacy". Then, answer the questions and complete the tasks below:
- Answer the following questions:
- 1. What important goals did the expedition accomplish?
- 2. What important goal did the expedition FAIL to accomplish?
- 3. List some of the explorers that came after Lewis and Clark. What impact did these future explorers have on the American west?
- Journal Entry: After two years facing every imaginable hardship in the wilderness, your journey has finally come to an end. You have arrived back in St. Louis, where it all began, and as you reflect on your journey, you write one last journal entry. In this final entry, describe how you feel about the expedition and what you were able to accomplish, and what you hope the legacy of your journey will be (The word legacy is defined as a thing handed down by a predecessor.).
- Adv. and Pre IB: The picture below shows one of many monuments/sculptures dedicated to the legacy of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The word legacy is defined as a thing handed down by a predecessor. Based on what you've learned about the expedition, create/draw your own monument honoring the legacy of this historic expedition. In your monument, include the following:
- A rough sketch of your monument (remember, effort over artistic ability)
- A plaque that accompanies the monument that describes what the monument is, and summarizes what it celebrates (the accomplishments and contributions of the expedition).