!

Meriwether Lewis and William Clark were two American explorers. They explored America from 1804 to 1806. They explored Louisiana, a very big piece of land between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains. The USA bought the land from France in 1803 but nobody knew what was in this land. So Lewis and Clark were asked to find out what was there.

Meriwether Lewis
Lewis was born on 18th August 1774 in Virginia. He was an officer in the army and then he worked for the president of the USA.

William Clark
William Clark was born on 1st August 1770 in Virginia. He was also an officer in the army.

The Louisiana Purchase

In 1800, the USA was still quite small. But the American president, Thomas Jefferson, wanted to make the USA bigger. In 1803, the USA bought Louisiana from France. But nobody knew what was in this land. So the president asked Meriweather Lewis to explore Louisiana. Lewis asked his friend, William Clark, to come with him. Jefferson also wanted them to trade with the Native Americans and add the Pacific Northwest to the USA.

The Expedition
Lewis and Clark left St. Louis in 14th May 1804 with about 30 people. They travelled up the Missouri River in small boats and they spent the winter at Fort Mandan in North Dakota. They met many Native Americans there, who helped the explorers survive the cold winter. They left Fort Mandan in the Spring. In the spring they found the start of the Missouri River and then they crossed the Rocky Mountains. They were helped by a Native American woman. Then they travelled west until they reached the Pacific Ocean. On their return journey, Lewis and Clark separated so they could explore more land. They met again on the Missouri River and continued together to St. Louis. They arrived in St. Louis on 23rd September 1806. They had many problems on their journey. They crossed dangerous rivers and high mountains on their journey. They survived cold weather, hot weather, hunger and illness. Their journey gave people lots of information and about the West. Soon, Americans moved west in search of new land. Lewis was made governor of Louisiana, but he was killed in 1809. Clark died in 1838.

!
CLIL360 2014 All rights reserved. May be photocopied for use in the classroom. Images from Wikimedia Commons and are in public domain.