Lewis and Clark's Expedition from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean was the first governmental exploration of the "Great West." The history of this undertaking is the personal narrative and official report of the first white men who crossed the continent between and British and Spanish possessions.

When President Thomas Jefferson bought the Louisiana Territory from cash-strapped France in 1803, he doubled the size of the United States without really knowing what he was getting. He dispatched Meriwether Lewis and William Clark and their Corps of Discovery to explore a territory that would include part or all of fifteen future states and to seek a water route to the West Coast. Westward expansion began immediately, all for the bargain price of 15 million dollars. This book richly explores this fascinating part of history.

This fascinating text details the incredible journey of Lewis and Clark through the Louisiana Territory, an expedition that would prove to be one of the most important chapters in American history. Readers will follow Lewis and Clark as they paddle up the Missouri River, ride over the Bitterroot Mountains, and observe the remarkable landscape that surrounds them. Critical aspects of social studies and science curriculum are related through the chronicle of this grand adventure.

In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson authorized the purchase of the Louisiana Territory, a vast land that doubled the size of the United States. Jefferson soon appointed Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to explore the western territory and find a route to the Pacific Ocean. The adventures of this expedition are some of the most exciting of American history. Both of these chapters of western expansion in the United States, important components of the social studies curriculum, are illuminated in this engaging volume, full of helpful maps, vibrant images, and fascinating historical facts.

DIVAction-packed account of perilous journey made by undaunted men who faced hostile Indians, prairie fires, floods, famine, sub-zero weather, and other perils to chart the vast unknown lands of the Louisiana Purchase. /div

Provides facts about the Lewis and Clark Expedition and its importance in American history.

Two centuries after their expedition awoke the nation both to the promise and to the disquiet of the vast territory out west, Lewis and Clark still stir the imagination, and their adventure remains one of the most celebrated and studied chapters in American history. This volume explores the legacy of Lewis and Clark's momentous journey and, on the occasion of its bicentennial, considers the impact of their westward expedition on American culture. Approaching their subject from many different perspectives—literature, history, women's studies, law, medicine, and environmental history, among others—the authors chart shifting attitudes about the explorers and their journals, together creating a compelling, finely detailed picture of the "interdisciplinary intrigue" that has always surrounded Lewis and Clark's accomplishment. This collection is most remarkable for its insights into ongoing debates over the relationships between settler culture and aboriginal peoples, law and land tenure, manifest destiny and westward expansion, as well as over the character of Sacagawea, the expedition's vision of nature, and the interpretation and preservation of the Lewis and Clark Trail.

In the 1790s, trade was a major part of the U.S. economy. At this time, most goods were sent by boat. So, the country needed cities with ports. The city of New Orleans was especially important. It sits on the Mississippi River, and it borders the Gulf of Mexico. Find out more in The Louisiana Purchase, a title in the Building Our Nation series. Building Our Nation is a series of AV2 media enhanced books. A unique book code printed on page 2 unlocks multimedia content. These books come alive with video, audio, weblinks, slideshows, activities, hands-on experiments, and much more.

"The team of the "Grand Expedition," as it was optimistically named, was the first to send its findings on the newly annexed territory to the president, who received Dunbar and Hunter's detailed journals with pleasure. They include descriptions of flora and fauna, geology, weather, landscapes, and native peoples and European settlers, as well as astronomical and navigational records that allowed the first accurate English maps of the region and its waterways to be produced. Their scientific experiments conducted at the hot springs may be among the first to discover a microscopic phenomena still under research today."--BOOK JACKET.