my report

[TheCalliton]

Hello all!

i have to do a report for online classes so i figured id run it by yall

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lewis and Clark

The trip into the unknown

By: not allowed to post my real name

 

 

The early 1800's where a time when most people lived near or on the eastern coast of the United States. But the current President of the United States had just made the Louisiana purchase. This doubled the size of the U.S. Somebody needed to map a way to the west coast. President Jefferson knew the perfect man to lead this expedition, this man was Meriwether Lewis. He in turn Knew a man who was well suited to come with him. This second man was William Clark.

 

 

Meriwether Lewis was born on August 18 1774 in Virginia. He was raised on a large plantation there, and joined the Virginia militia in 1794. The next year he was in the U.S. Army. In 1800 he became a caption of the U.S. Army, and in 1801 Jefferson appointed Lexis as his private secretary. Lewis and Jefferson both had the vision of the west being explored, thus it is no surprise that Jefferson chose Lewis to lead the expedition. To prepare him for the rugged expedition, Jefferson sent him to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to learn about history, animals, vegetation, history, and astronomy.

 

 

The other leader of the Corps Of Discovery was William Clark. Like Lewis, Clark was born in Virginia. That day was August 1 1770. All of Clark's brothers had fought in the Revolutionary war. This must have been what influenced him to join the U.S. Army in 1789. Clark met Lewis while in the Army, and the two became good friends. Clark's skills as a mapmaker, artist, were needed during the journey.

 

 

The leader's had been chosen to explore the recently bought "Louisiana Purchase" They would be the first white men to explore this area. The two men went to mouth of

the Missouri river in 1803 to finish preparations for their journey into the unknown.

 

 

on May 14 1804, the Corps of Discovery struck out to the west. They began to head west along the Missouri river. Near the start of their journey, Lewis and Clarck met many fur traders. One of which was Pierre Dorion. He knew how to communicate with the Indians. With their 46th member, they continued on their journey. At the end of September, the group met a party of Teton Sioux. The Sioux demanded gifts, but Lewis and Clark refused, but the Sioux eventually allowed them to pass.

 

 

In 1804 they reached a Mandan village in North Dakota. They quickly built a fort with which to wait out winter. Soon people came to visit the fort. One of them was a burly French-Canadian trapper named Toussaint Charbonnrau. He needed work in order to help support his wife, Sacagawea. Lewis and Clark gladly accepted them on Their journey as translators. That winter, Sacagawea gave birth to a son, Jean Baptiste.

 

 

Sacagawea did her best to help the Corps of Discovery make they're way west. Many Indian warriors crossed paths with the group, but tensions eased when they saw Sacagawea, as war parties did not bring women with them. Sacagawea led the group through the lands that she knew.

 

 

Soon they reached the three forks. This was where the three tributaries met. They named each. The Gallatin after the secretary of the treasury. The Madison, after the secretary of state. The last was named the Jefferson, after the president. After some calculations, they chose the Jefferson and proceeded up it. After a while Lewis took a few men and went ahead of the others, in hopes of finding the Shoshone and their horses.

 

 

On august 13, they found the Shoshone. The scouting party came across three women from the Shoshone who were washing clothes. One ran while the other two stayed and bowed their heads, as if ready to die. Lewis offered the gifts and convinced them of his peacefulness. Soon a war party arrived, summoned by the woman that had fled. Before they could attack Lewis and his men, the two Shoshone women who had stayed talked to the war party and convinced them if Lewis's peaceful coming.

 

 

Lewis led the war party and their chief back to Clark. The Chief's name was Cameahwait, which means "One who never walks" During the negotiations, Sacagawea ran up to Cameahwait and embraced him. The chief was Sacagawea's brother. Tensions vanished then, and the negotiations went of without a single problem, and they soon had ponies to cross the mountains with.

 

 

The journey across the mountains was harsh. Food was scarce, and the terrain was menacing. The men were starving, as were the horses. They were forced to slaughter more than one horse on the way through the mountains. Finally the mountains ended. But a new threat emerged, the Nez Perce. The Nez Perce gave them salmon and roots, which caused diarrhea and vomiting from the rapid change of diet. In secret, the Nez Perce met to debate what they would do with the strangers. Kill them and take their treasures or let them go. If it wasn't for an old woman and the help of a chief, the expedition would have ended there.

 

The expedition continued on with new canoes and still ill members. Their new guide, named Twisted Hair, told them it would only take a few weeks to reach the ocean. It was not easy as they passed through many dangerous rapids that no one in their right mind would try now. Finally they reached it, the Pacific ocean. Clark wrote in his journal, "Ocian in view! O joy!" The joy and glee that the party felt upon such a sight is beyond imagination. They stayed there at what is the sound (Part of the Ocean that wraps into the state of Washington) just short of the real Pacific. They stayed there for roughly a year, then began to head back.

 

The way back for the Lewis and Clark Expedition was considerably simpler for the group. Lewis went back on the same path, but Clark decided to detour south and map more area. they reunited further along the way back. They returned, and Lewis was given the seat of governor for the Louisiana territory. Later on during a trip to Washington D.C. he either took his own life or was murdered, as it is unknown what happened. We do know that Lewis was probably depressed. He was only 35. Clark, on the other hand, became the Brigadier General of militia for the Louisiana territory. He died at 83

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sources:

Lewis and Clark: By Cynthia Klingel and Robert B. Noyed. Published by The Child's World

Lewis and Clark: To the Pacific John Hamilton. Published by ABDO Publishing Company

Lewis and Clark: Uncharted Lands John Hamilton. Published by ABDO Publishing Company

Lewis and Clark: The Mountains John Hamilton. Published by ABDO Publishing Company

[dezdimona]

nice but you might want to mention what country louisianna was purchased from,just my opinion.

[TheCalliton]

good idea... i just sent it to the teacher though

[Retribution]

I hope you used spell/grammar check :X

[TheCalliton]

i used spellcheck, but i dont have agrammer one...

[Retribution]

Well, I think Word has it.

[TheCalliton]

dont have word...

[Facebag]

As I can see from your prior post, this message is a bit late. Well- written report, but some errors that could cost you. Firstly, when you posted it here, did you somehow copy and paste the Word document (assuming you're using Microsoft Word.) Next, not sure what your teacher's preferences or instructions are, but I'm assuming the sources cited at the end are either footnotes or endnotes, since a bibliography is generally on a page separate from the report. Next, though your sentences were well written and used some good vocabulary words, there are various grammatical mistakes. This may or may not be significant, depending on how meticulous this particular teacher is, but in college, techaers are usually quite meticuluous. The largest flaw that I can see in this report is that there are next to no transition words or clauses between your sentences. This often makes reports sound choppy and unattractive For example, when you write, " In secret, the Nez Perce met to debate what they would do with the strangers. Kill them and take their treasures or let them go. If it wasn't for an old woman and the help of a chief, the expedition would have ended there.", you move directly to the next paragraph, writing, "The expedition continued on with new canoes and still ill members." It would be advisable to refer back to the previous paragraph often if not always with this style of report. A more ideal transition between these two paragraphs would have been the following: "After their harrowing journey through the mountains, Lewis and Clark continued their journey by canoe, and were beset with more hardships." This makes it sound much nicer, and makes your report somewhat "smoother". Good for earning extra points on assignments like these. Finally, a city and date are usually provided for sources when I cite them, but I'm not sure if you need to do that in your assignments. Again, it depends on your instructions. Overall a very good report. That concludes this long message.

[Retribution]

All fairly minor mistakes, but most teachers tend to think that having a few errors merits a bad grade.