In North DakotaAnd

In The Science Classroom

Captain Meriwether Lewis

• Captain Meriwether Lewis– President Jefferson’s

private secretary and personal friend of many years

• Entrusted with the success of the important undertaking of expedition

Captain William Clark

• The increased importance of the exploration warranted an additional commander to assist Lewis

• Was a entrusted friend of Lewis’s

The Expedition

• On February 28, 1803, President Thomas Jefferson won approval from Congress for a visionary project, an endeavor that would become one of America’s greatest stories of adventure.

• Twenty-five hundred dollars were appropriated to fund a small expeditionary group

• The mission was to explore the uncharted West. • Jefferson called the group the Corps of

Discovery.

The Expedition

• The expedition was organized to explore the vast Louisiana Territory which the U.S. had newly acquired and to find a route to the Pacific Ocean

• The Corps of Discovery was asked to study mineralogy, climate, geography, botany, zoology, and ethnology.

Lewis and Clark ReachNorth Dakota

Lewis and Clark Reach North Dakota

• October 24th, 1804• Reach what is now just north of Bismarck ND• Some 4,500 Mandan and Hidatsas live in the area

in earth-lodge villages• Built Fort Mandan across the river from the main

village• While living there, they were learning,recording,

and collecting information.

Lewis and Clark Reach North Dakota

• Many plants, animals, and birds were recorded during their time spent in ND many of which supplied the expedition with food and clothing

• The majority of their stay was during the winter months of 1804-1805 at Fort Mandan

• The Corps departed April 7th, 1805 (Sacagawea joins the expedition)

Into the “Unknown”

• On April 7, 1805, the Corps of Discovery left Fort Mandan, where they had spent the previous winter, and headed west.

• On their maps, the land that Lewis and Clark were headed toward was indicated by a vast, blank space and the word, "Unknown."

The End of a Journey

• November 7th, 1805 Lewis and Clark reach the Pacific Ocean

• On September 23rd the Corps of Discovery returns to St. Louis after having been gone nearly two and a half years

• Clark is made Indian agent for the West

• Lewis is named governor of the Louisiana Territory

Sources

• npsc.nbs.gov

• pbs.gov