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    • US Stamp commemorating Lewis and Clark expedition

    Lewis and Clark

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    Meriwether Lewis and William Clark’s trailblazing expedition departed from St. Louis 201 years ago, on May 14, 1804. In a span of twenty-eight months, they covered 8,000 miles, journeying to the Pacific Ocean and back again.

    		Lewis and Clark Resource Handout for Classroom or Homeschool: Just $2.00

    Discovering Lewis & Clark5 stars

    "'The object of your mission is to explore the Missouri River & such principal stream of it as by its course and communication with the waters of the Pacific Ocean, whether the Columbia, Oregon, Colorado or any other river may offer the most direct & practicable water communication across this continent for the purpose of commerce.' With these words, President Jefferson set in motion the Lewis and Clark expedition of 1804 - 1806."



    EdGate: Lewis & Clark Mapping the West4 stars

    "Among the many successes of the 1804-06 Lewis and Clark expedition were the important strides made in the mapping of the U.S. interior." This Smithsonian exhibit explains the importance of maps, shows one of the original maps that Lewis and Clark carried with them, and describes the mapping that took place during their journey. "They prepared about 140 maps on the trail and collected some 30 maps from Indians, fur trappers, and traders."

    National Archives: Lewis & Clark Expedition5 stars

    With Primary Source Documents and Document Analysis Worksheets, the National Archives is a treasure trove for teachers and homeschoolers. "Document analysis is the first step in working with primary sources. Teach your students to think through primary source documents for contextual understanding and to extract information to make informed judgments."

    PBS: Journey of the Corps of Discovery5 stars

    In 1803, Congress approved an appropriation of $2500 to fund the Lewis and Clark expedition, which Jefferson named the Corps of Discovery. Over the next four years, the Lewis and Clark team traveled "thousands of miles, experiencing lands, rivers and peoples that no Americans ever had before." Now, thanks to this great PBS site, it's your turn to lead the expedition. Into the Unknown is an interactive game (and my favorite click of the entire site) which lets you make decisions such as when to continue up the river or to stop and wait out the storm. Other great clicks are the free Lewis and Clark screen savers, the native American perspective, and the expedition timeline.

    University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition5 stars

    This site features the full text of Lewis and Clark's journals, edited by Gary E. Moulton, along with a gallery of images (photos of the original journals), maps, and audio readings of a few of the passages. As noted in the Introduction, "Clark's last entry is a reminder that 'wrighting' was one of the principal tasks of the captains, and one that they thoroughly fulfilled. As Donald Jackson has observed, Lewis and Clark were ‘the writingest explorers of their time. They wrote constantly and abundantly, afloat and ashore, legibly and illegibly, and always with an urgent sense of purpose.'"

    		Lewis and Clark Resource Handout for Classroom or Homeschool: Just $2.00



    Honorable Mentions

    The following links are either new discoveries or sites that didn't make it into my newspaper column because of space constraints. Enjoy!

    History: Lewis and Clark

    Lewis & Clark

    Lewis & Clark's Historic Trail

    Travel the Lewis and Clark Trail


    Cite This Page

    Feldman, Barbara. "Lewis and Clark." Surfnetkids. Feldman Publishing. 12 May. 2020. Web. 30 Dec. 2024. <https://www.surfnetkids.com/resources/lewis-and-clark/ >.


    About This Page

    By . Originally published May 12, 2020. Last modified May 12, 2020.

    Filed Under: American History, History, Holidays

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