Corps Of Discovery Dbq

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The Corps of Discovery achieved many great things during their expedition. They formed values on cooperation, befriended the Indians, and mapped the west. To completely understand the gravity of how important the explorer’s greatest achievement, mapping the west, truly is, then greatness needs to be defined. The dictionary defines greatness as “the property possessed by something or someone of outstanding importance or eminence.” This being said, mapping the west was the Corps of Discovery’s most important and great achievement.
In the year 1803, President Thomas Jefferson “chose Meriwether Lewis to lead an overland expedition” (textbook, page 129). Lewis was President Jefferson’s personal secretary. Lewis chose his personal friend William Clark to join his on the mission. This expedition was named The Corps of Discovery. The expedition itself started in 1804 and ended in 1806. It included four sergeants and twenty-four privates, as well as Private Reed, who went AWOL. In addition, there were two interpreters and a single corporal. The party also included York, Clark’s manservant, and Sacajawea, who became Charbonneau’s (one of the interpreters) Shoshone wife. The exact amount of party members is unknown, as “Not all of the members of the Corps of Discovery returned to St. Louis in 1806” …show more content…

Without this knowledge so early on, many more explorers may have died. Without Lewis and Clark’s exploring and mapping, the United States may not have become our land, but may have continued to be the Indian’s land, or possibly the Spanish. With the Indian’s cooperation, some of the history that had been previously unrecorded was written down, as well as scientifically inspecting the wildlife in their Western habitats. In the end, this shows that Lewis and Clark mapping the new Western territory was their greatest

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