Territorial Expansion

This interactive allows students to follow in the footsteps of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark on one of the most important expeditions in American history—a voyage of danger and discovery from St. Louis to the headwaters of the Missouri River, over the Continental Divide to the Pacific Ocean. This interactive combines a compelling graphic interface with facts, lessons and video clips from the film. Several group project suggestions are included in Support Materials.

In the early 1840s, the United States, Canada, and Great Britain each claimed territories in Oregon. Waves of American settlers began moving west for the open space and a chance to start anew. Between 1843 and 1847, more than 11,000 Americans traveled to Oregon in wagon trains. The Homestead Act of 1862 drove more western migration by granting homesteaders 160 acres of land in exchange for cultivating it. The western territories were fertile, and farmers who settled reaped tremendous rewards from planting crops, though they struggled with the loneliness of their isolation from others. Discussion questions offer students an opportunity to explore the varied experiences of westward migration and settlement. A follow-up activity allows students take on the role of either a Cayuse native or a member of a white missionary family to participate in a modified restorative justice activity.

Interactions between white Americans and Native Americans in the nineteenth century were characterized by white desire to occupy native land, whether to develop the railroad, pursue buffalo hunting, or claim newly-mined gold. Conflicts escalated into military battles in which Native Americans fought to defend their ancestral homeland. Military victory by Native Americans, such as in the Battle of Little Bighorn, did not deter white Americans’ interests. When the Lakota defeated Custer and his troops, the U.S.government deported the Lakota to reservations anyway, with a sharpened desire to claim more Native land as their own.  These videos demonstrate to students distinct chapters in the encounters between white Americans and Native Americans. Students will understand the forces that spurred these encounters, the traits that characterized each side’s treatment of one another, and the ultimate outcome of the American government’s strategy towards native populations. The culminating activity invites students to create a monument commemorating an important element of the Native American struggle during this time period, either for the Cherokee, one of three tribal leaders, or for the children at residential schools.

In this activity, students examine several of William Clark’s maps of the Corps of Discovery’s journey, and read about his skills as a cartographer. Students then practice making their own maps.

In this activity, students choose an historical event to research, answer specific questions about that event, and gather facts to share about the event.

In this activity, students compare old maps of the North American continent to a modern map of the United States and answer questions.

Learn about the group that called themselves “nimiipuu”—”the people”, and that William Clark called the “Nez Perce,” when the Corps encountered them west of the Continental Divide in October 1805. Hear from Mylie Lawyer, a descendant of the leader Twisted Hair, and historian Stephen Ambrose, as they discuss the first encounter between the Nez Perce and the Corps.

With a budget approved by Congress and a mastermind in Thomas Jefferson, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark embarked on a fantastic adventure in 1804 to explore the uncharted, unknown American West for the U.S. government. Jefferson dubbed them the “Corps of Discovery.” The team documented the wildlife, plants, and geography of the region. During their four-year journey, they crossed thousands of miles and found critical support in native tribes like the Shoshone Indians and the young Sacagawea, the only woman to travel with them. As you view several images of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, consider who created these images, where they were published, and what purpose they might have served.

Learn about how Meriwether Lewis first encountered Sacagawea, on February 11, 1805, near the Expedition’s winter camp, Fort Mandan. Sacagawea was a Shoshone girl who had been captured by the Hidasta and then sold to Toussaint Charbonneaux, a fur trapper. The Corps was eager to hire Toussaint Charbonneaux as a translator, knowing that Sacagawea’s knowledge of the Shoshone language would be invaluable to the Expedition.

In this activity, students research and learn as much as they can about the role of Sacagawea and the contributions she made as she traveled with Lewis and Clark on their exploration of the American West.

Learn about the importance of the journals that members of the Corps of Discovery kept during the Expedition, and hear an excerpt from Meriwether Lewis’s journal.

Hear Corps member John Ordway’s journal entry from December 25, 1805, describing the harsh conditions at Fort Clatsop, on the south side of the Columbia River, near present-day Astoria, Oregon, where the Corps camped during the winter of 1805.

After the Expedition ended, the Corps of Expedition disbanded. Learn about the lives of several Corps members following the expedition, including John Ordway, Joseph Whitehouse, John Colter, Alexander Willard, Patrick Gass, and William Clark’s slave York.

In 1848, pioneer John Sutter uncovered America’s first “motherlode” of gold in California, a discovery that transformed the landscape, the locals, and the lives of those who went West to seek their fortunes. In this activity, students will learn about the environmental and social changes brought about by the Gold Rush, and the experiences of white, African-American, Chinese, and Cherokee gold-seekers. As a follow-up activity, students will read primary and secondary source documents about the poor conditions and discrimination Chinese miners faced, and write a letter home from a miner’s perspective.

Students discuss the places that they would like to visit one day, then read an essay on Lewis and Clark and answer questions.

Learn how Sacagawea played a crucial role in the Corps’ important trade negotiations with the Shoshone in August 1805, near the Continental Divide, and was reunited with her brother Cameahwait.

In this activity, students learn as much as they can about the role of York and his contributions to Lewis and Clark's exploration of the American West.

Hear how the United States expanded in the years following the expedition. As you watch, consider the consequences of the Corps of Discovery’s exploration of the Louisiana Territory, as geographer John Logan Allen describes Lewis and Clark as “the openers of new geographies.”

In this activity, students research and learn as much as they can about the role of the Mandan Indians and their contributions to Lewis and Clark's exploration of the American West.

In this activity, students learn as much as they can about the role the Shoshones Indians and their contributions to Lewis and Clark's exploration of the American West.

In this activity, students research and learn as much as they can about the role of the Nez Perce Tribe and their contributions to Lewis and Clark's exploration of the American West.