Who Were Lewis and Clark?
The Lewis and Clark Expedition began in ________, when President _________________
tasked Meriwether ___________ with exploring lands west of the Mississippi River that
comprised the Louisiana Purchase. Lewis chose William ___________ as his co-leader for the
mission. The excursion lasted over two years: Along the way they confronted harsh weather,
unforgiving terrain, treacherous waters, injuries, starvation, disease and both friendly and hostile
Native Americans. Nevertheless, the approximately ______________journey was deemed a
huge success and provided new geographic, ecological and social information about previously
uncharted areas of North America.
Meriwether Lewis was born in Virginia in _________ but spent his early childhood in Georgia.
He returned to Virginia as a teenager to receive his education and graduated from college in
1793. He then joined the Virginia state militia—where he helped to put down the Whiskey
Rebellion—and later became a captain in the U.S. Army. At age 27 he became personal
___________ to President Thomas Jefferson.
William Clark was born in Virginia in ________ but moved with his family to Kentucky at age
15. At age 19, he joined the state militia and then the regular Army, where he served with Lewis
and was eventually commissioned by President George Washington as a lieutenant of infantry.
In 1796, Clark returned home to manage his family’s estate. Seven years later, Lewis chose him
to embark on an epic excursion that would help shape America’s history.
Louisiana Purchase
During the _________ and ________ ______, France surrendered a large part of Louisiana to
___________ and almost all of its remaining lands to ________ _________.
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Initially, Spain’s acquisition didn’t have a major impact since it still allowed the United States to
travel the ____________ River and use ____________ as a trade port. Then _____________
Bonaparte took power in France in 1799 and wanted to regain France’s former territory in the
United States.
In 1802, King Charles IV of Spain returned the Louisiana Territory to France and revoked
America’s port access. In 1803, under the threat of war, President Jefferson and James
__________ successfully negotiated a deal with France to purchase the Louisiana Territory—
which included about 827,000 square miles—for $15 million.
Even before negotiations with France were finished, Jefferson asked Congress to finance an
expedition to survey the lands of the so-called ___________ ____________ and appointed Lewis
as expedition commander.
Preparations for the Lewis and Clark Expedition
Lewis knew that exploring the Louisiana Territory would be no small task and began
preparations immediately. He studied ____________, botany, astronomy and zoology and
scrutinized existing maps and journals of the region. He also asked his friend Clark to cocommand the expedition.
Even though Clark was once Lewis’ superior, Lewis was technically in charge of the trip. But for
all intens and purposes, the two shared __________ responsibility.
On July 5, 1803, Lewis visited the arsenal at Harper’s Ferry to obtain munitions. He then rode a
custom-made, 55-foot keelboat—also called “the boat” or “the barge”—down the ________
River and joined Clark in Clarksville, ___________. From there, Clark took the boat up the
Mississippi River while Lewis continued along on horseback to collect additional supplies.
Some of the supplies collected were:
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surveying instruments including __________________, quadrants, ______________,
sextants and a chronometer
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camping supplies including oilcloth, steel flints, tools, utensils, corn mill, mosquito
netting, fishing equipment, soap and salt
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_________________
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weapons and ammunition
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_______________ and ___________________

books on botany, geography and astronomy

____________
Lewis also collected gifts to present to Native Americans along the journey such as:

_________________
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face paint

_________________

tobacco

_________ __________

bright colored cloth

______________
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sewing notions

_______________
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The Expedition Begins
Lewis entrusted Clark to recruit men for their “Corps of ______________ for Northwest
Discovery.” Throughout the winter of 1803-1804, Clark recruited and trained men at Camp
DuBois north of St. Louis, _____________. He chose unmarried, healthy men who were good
hunters and knew ____________ skills.
The expedition party included _____ souls including Lewis, Clark, 27 unmarried soldiers, a
French-Indian interpreter, a contracted boat crew and a slave owned by Clark named York.
On May 14, ________, Clark and the Corps joined Lewis in St. Charles, Missouri and headed
upstream on the Missouri River in the keelboat and two smaller boats at a rate of about ____
__________ per day. Heat, swarms of insects and strong river currents made the trip arduous at
best.
To maintain discipline, Lewis and Clark ruled the Corps with an iron hand and doled out harsh
punishments such as bareback lashing and hard labor for those who got out of line.
On August 20, 22-year-old Corps member Sergeant Charles Floyd died of an abdominal
_____________, possibly from appendicitis. He was the ________ member of the Corps to die
on their journey.
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