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.
Have you ever wondered what it was like to have explored the territory of the Louisiana Purchase? A mass of land never recorded on document, the unknown behind it, the adventure it entails! In the book Undaunted Courage written by biographer Stephen E. Ambrose we are given a look at Meriwether Lewis's personal journal. The author takes us from Meriwethers birth and early life, through his expedition, and his political career, then finally into his untimely death.
Since the early seventeenth century, French explorers had been able to keep peaceful relations with the Native Americans as a result of fur trading. Samuel de Champl...
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
Ambrose is a very esteemed and honorable historian who showed at no end that he would stop doing what he loved, writing about America and enriching the minds of his readers and students. Ambrose has shown his great admiration for his country, reflecting upon his views for America and writing about 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 the messages he tries to convey to his readers.
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.
Supporters of the Age of Exploration believe James Cook was an example of a great explorer and a navigator. In his text/lecture “Cook’s Third Voyage”, Encyclopedia argues that in Hawaii he fought with the Hawaiians during his third voyage in 1779 and died leaving a legacy. Cook mapped lands from New Zealand to Hawaii, the great Barrier Reef of Australia, and the Pacific Ocean. He had a superior surveying and cartographic skills, physical courage and an ability to lead men in many different conditions. Based upon this research, it is clear that James Cook is significant because he’s a great seaman. This evidence supports
The Exploration Era was a time period when countries and people made journeys overseas to find “the New World.” With the help of the printing press, the discoveries of the Americas were known globally making people curious to explore it themselves. In the map “Distribution of Columbus’ Letter” (Document D), it shows where the letter was published and where it was translated to different. This is due to the printing press. Along with the many documents, the news of Christopher Columbus’ discoveries of “India” or the New World had sparked the curiosity of people all over the world. People became more interested in geography and seeing what’s out there along with the different resources. The New World discovery opened up a new trade route and different trade items. This would create pros and cons like economic growth and slavery. In addition the exploration of the Europeans helped us gain knowledge and get a picture of the Americas. In the “Henricus Martellus’ World Map, 1489” (Document E), it shows the world as they knew it with Europe, Africa, and Asia. The “Martin Waldseemuller's World Map, 1507” was an updated, more correct version of the world we see today. Waldseemuller’s map includes the Americas and was much bigger than Martellus’. The printing press had helped Waldseemuller use this new knowledge to create a map that would depict something
"Early Explorers of the Western Hemisphere." World Almanac & Book of Facts 2000, 1999, p456.
“Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction,” declared John F. Kennedy, President and World War ll hero. This means if you go out and do something brave but it doesn’t have a purpose it is pointless. A lot of courage is shown in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, To Kill A Mockingbird, Schindler’s List, and The Merchant Of Venice.
Bierce is most known for his short stories “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” and “Chickamauga.” Even though he did not have that many short stories, he was still a well-known, influential writer. The public loved him; and was very interested by his stories, his personality, his life, and even his death. In 1913 Bierce disappeared over the Mexican border and still, until this day, no one has documented proof on exactly how, when, or where Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce died.
Having engaged in a relentless and detailed examination of Christopher Columbus’ four voyages across the Atlantic, the reader can now undoubtedly claim to have ascertained a greater level of knowledge and appreciation than he before could have ever held. Although the reader is bereft of a happy or joyous ending, he can find solace in a better comprehension of past events, those men who characterized them, and the implied lessons for a future that will inevitably become a part of history itself. Columbus: the four voyages, by Laurence Bergreen, is a remarkable biography that provides all of that, and then
Chen, Tina. "'Unraveling the Deeper Meaning': Exile and the Embodied Poetics of Displacement in Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried." Contemporary Literature. 39.1 (1998): 77. Expanded Academic ASAP.
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.")
Meredith, Robert K., E. Brooks Smith, and Fernando ColoÌn. The Quest of Columbus; a detailed and exact account of the discovery of America, with the many difficulties, dangers, and triumphant return,. Boston: Little, Brown, 1966.
C.S. Lewis was a very joyful man, and his joyfulness shone through in all he did. He would assign nicknames to his family members and friends, like Robert E. Havard the useless Quack or as he called his walking companion A.C. Harwood, the Lord of the Walks. Another glimpse of his joyful spirit is when he finished his first day at Oxford and wrote to his dad, The place has surpassed my wildest dreams. I never saw anything so beautiful. Finally, we see his joy when he wrote to one of his friends right after his marriage, Its funny having at 59 the sort of happiness most men have at their twenties Thou hast kept the good wine till now. C.S. Lewis was a very joyful man from whom people could learn a lot.