Ever since the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, Thomas Jefferson longed to know what lay in the West. Now that the land belonged to the Americans, sold to them from the French, they were free to explore it. Jefferson hired two men named Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to lead an expedition into this unknown territory on an adventure called the Journey of Discovery. This journey was set up so that Jefferson could collect as much information of the unknown as possible, including plants, animals, and other natural history. An author and American historian named Stephen Ambrose wrote a 484 page book retelling this story of Lewis and Clark titled Undaunted Courage. Professor at University of New Orleans, founder of the National D-day Museum, and writer/editor of over 35 books, Ambrose was well-educated on the topics he wrote about (nationalgeographic.com). At a young age, Ambrose joined the World War II Navy, and this instilled a feeling of patriotism that never left him. This love that he had for his country shows through his writing as the reader can feel the passion for the subjects that he writes about. Because his writing was so phenomenal, multiple books of his climbed to the 1st New York Times Bestseller slot, not to mention that one biography titled Band of Brothers made its way on-screen in form of a television miniseries. The significance of the Journey of Discovery is humongous, considering that the voyage is what laid down the foundation of life in the West. “The expedition was meant to prepare the way for the extension of the American fur trade and to advance geographical knowledge” (nsp.gov). As a developing country, America needed as much help as it could possibly get, and this included expanding on their knowledge of the... ... middle of paper ... ... have met. Because Lewis is the main focus in the biography, the reader gets to know him on a very personal level. You get a good idea of how mentally and physically challenging the trip was to him. Since I have a preference of European history over American history I was fairly satisfied after putting it down. With a renewed perspective on our country and the effort made by the Founding Fathers to lay down a plan for the future of America which we are indulging in as we speak. Its books like this that reminds me why I would like to be a historian someday. Inspiring and all around fantastic, I had a great time reading about Lewis and Clark and the Journey of Discovery. Works Cited "Historian Steven Ambrose Dead at 66." National Geographic. National Geographic Society, n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2013. National Parks Service. National Parks Service, n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2013.
Manifested in the mind of the 3rd President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson came the first American expedition to head west towards the Missouri River all the way to the Pacific Ocean, in the year 1804. The Lewis and Clark Expedition formed just one year after the Louisiana Purchase, the purchase of territory from imperial France in 1803 by Thomas Jefferson. 1 The Louisiana Purchase provoked President Jefferson to look to navigate the territory that his empire now encompassed, and out of this grew the expedition led by Meriwether Lewis and Lewis Clark. 2 Lewis and Clark and their unit of volunteers from the United States Army specially selected by Thomas Jefferson that accompanied them soon became known as the Corps of Discovery, a group of men destined to “compile what amounted to the first chapters in an American encyclopedia of Native American peoples and cultures”. 3
In 1802 Jefferson had started to strategize an expedition to explore out west all the way out to the Pacific. President Jefferson commenced preparations for this expedition in the same year after inspiration from the writings of Canadian explorer Sir Alexander Mackenzie. These writings were called the Voyages from Montreal. After reading these fascinating excerpts, Jefferson knew he wanted an American expedition out west. Jefferson’s expedition was also impacted by the journeys of Captain George Vancouver and James Cook in tha...
Ambrose has shown his great admiration for his country, reflecting upon his views for America and writing what he has done to help benefit this country, such as his D-day Museum. He visibly shows his patriotism and his fascination for military history as he recounts stories of World War 2 and the War of 1812 and speaks highly of countries achievements of helping rebuild Europe after the war and gaining independence for colonies held by Japan during the war. He uses imagery, contrasting ideas, and quotes from other historians or Americans to back up his messages he tries to convey to his readers. His background also influenced him very heavily in his writing as well and was what encouraged him to keep on writing to the very end.
Captain Meriwether Lewis and William Clark took the risk of life, limb, and liberty to bring back the precious and valuable information of the Pacific Northwest of the United States territory. Their accomplishments of surviving the trek and delivering the data to the U.S. government, have altered the course of history, but have some Historian’s and author’s stating, “It produced nothing useful.”, and having “added little to the stock of science and wealth. Lewis and Clark’s expedition is one of the most famous and most unknown adventures of America’s frontier.
In conclusion, I liked this book because it told about two different perspectives, one from the past and one from the present. It showed me the struggles Lewis and Clark faced, during their expedition, and what it was like to explore unknown terrain. I learned that the information gathered and the proof of an overland passage to the Pacific helped to open up the entire continent for rapid expansion and settlement to the new nation. It also told me about a family following in the footsteps of the Lewis and Clark expedition, and their excitement in doing so. I would defiantly recommend this book to my friends.
Turner’s writing style is dull but effective and to the point. Rather than leading the readers down a path full of redundant adjectives and vague foreshadowing, she instead focuses on the story and what it is worth. She writes at a level most people can comprehend while still answering any and all questions the reader might encounter. Her obvious motive for writing this book was to inform readers of the trials and tribulations of Lewis and Clark while still putting her own spin on the events of the expedition. As Erin Turner was born well after the Lewis and Clark escapade, this means she is recanting the story based on writings and historical journals. Because of this information gap, at times the reader feels somewhat lost in her words. One of the main goals on the expedition by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark was to map out the western territory they would be traveling through. In the journals of Clark and Lewis, maps were abundant. These maps identified...
The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the crowning achievement of Thomas Jefferson’s Presidency. Without the Lewis and Clark Expedition, the United States may never have expanded west. The expedition set out from outside St. Louis in May of 1804. During that summer and into the fall, the explorers paddled upstream, northwest on the Missouri River to Fort Mandan where the Corps of Discovery set up camp, wintered, and prepared for the journey to the Pacific. This expedition was extremely important for the new nation because on their journey, the Corps of Discovery did find a water route to the Pacific Ocean. They documented and cataloged the geography, as well as new flora and fauna they encountered, resulting in an extensive journal of new scientific information. They also established diplomatic and trade relations with the Native American Tribes they encountered along the way.
Thru history studies in grade school and secondary school students are taught of the great explorer who discovered America, Christopher Columbus. Tales of his many voyages and the names of his ships the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria are engrained into the minds of children through rhyme and song. For many years the history written in text books have been regard as fact however information provided by Howard Zinn excerpt has shed new light on the shadowy past of Christopher Columbus.
The Lewis and Clark Expedition is one of the great benefits for the U.S nation. The participants of this expedition left a legacy for younger generations of the skills needed for their discoveries and contributions. Species of animal and plants would have not be discover as well and the knowledge about them. It has been known as one the most important evolution for the growth in the land of U.S grounds and if not for the expedition, the land and vast geographic western area of the United States would never been recorded until later years when the nation is more advance loosing needed information for the expansion of the people and trading, which makes this expedition an important part of history that helped the nation grow.
Undaunted Courage is a very detailed account of what Ambrose considers the most important expedition in American history, Lewis and Clark’s exploration of the west. Ambrose attempts to project Thomas Jefferson’s vision of a country that stretches from sea to shining sea, of an open road to the west, of an “Empire of Liberty”. Ambrose repeatedly shows how important the expedition was to the United States and especially to Thomas Jefferson by giving examples of the powers given to Lewis by Jefferson in order to complete the expedition. Lewis is given a letter of credit signed by Thomas Jefferson
In the literary work, Speaking of Courage, Tim O’Brien highlights the trying struggle of a post-war solider attempting desperately to integrate himself back into American society. Paul Berlin’s trials and tribulations exemplify the “dominance of a citizen culture in the United States,” as mentioned by Dr. Decker in class. American society does not allow for the soldiers we have sent off to fight to return as warriors.
In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue. However, even after centuries later, little is truly known of the mysterious voyage and findings of the new world.1 By examining “Letter from Columbus to Luis Santangel”, one can further contextualize the events of Columbus' exploration of the New World. The letter uncovers Columbus' subtle hints of his true intentions and exposes his exaggerated tone that catered to his lavish demands with Spain. Likewise, The Columbian Voyage Map read in accordance with the letter helps the reader track Columbus' first, second, third, and fourth voyage to the New World carefully and conveniently. Thus, the letter and map's rarity and description render invaluable insight into Columbus' intentionality of the New World and its indigenous inhabitants.
On April 30, 1803, the United States bought 828,000 square miles of uncharted land from France. This is known as the Louisiana Purchase. A little over a year later, Jefferson’s famous “Corps of Discovery” set off from Camp River DuBois on the Missouri River. This group was led by Captain Meriwether Lewis, President Jefferson’s private secretary, and 2nd Lieutenant William Clark. They carried with them a keelboat, two smaller rowboats known as pirogues, and fifty-five men including translators, soldiers, a slave, and a dog named Seaman. The main goal of the expedition was to find a water route linking the Columbia and Missouri rivers. Finding this route would lead to an increase in trade and travel. As they traded with the Indians they set up the first phase of fur trading within the Oregon Country. This later led to strong diplomatic relations with some of the Native American tribes. Lewis and Clark also contributed greatly to the botanical and zoological fields by documenting 174 new plant species and 134 new animal species. But it was not all fun and games, as you will see. (4. " lewis & clark expedition --reading 1.") (11.Perry) (5. "Lewis and clark expedition facts, information, pictures.")
From his his birth in Virginia, through his childhood and all the way until his untimely death the book recounted the life of Meriwether Lewis as told by Stephen E. Ambrose. The author had a great respect for the man behind the adventure after reading a copy of his journals. I did wonder what it would have been like to explore the territory of the Louisiana Purchase, and now after reading this book I have a slight idea as to what they went through. Though I will never truly know because of the separation in how we live, but I did get to live it vicariously while reading this book.
The “presence” of the North American Continent had been known to the persons living there for centuries before arrival. But Columbus, and those who followed him, recognized the significance of the New World; in this sense they certainly deserve credit for having “discovered” America.