Lewis and Clark (Cornerstones of Freedom)

Rating:
Summary: The Corps of Discovery explores the Louisiana Purchase
Review: Sometimes history comes alive through the details. In this Cornerstones of Freedom volume on the Lewis & Clark expedition there are two photographs of historic artifacts that certainly make the whole adventure come alive for me. First, there are pages from William Clark's journal which contains accounts of weather conditions and geographical observations, as well as sketches fo the scenery and wildlife. Second, there is a letter of credit, written by President Thomas Jefferson in his own hand, so that the expedition could return home by ship (it was never used as Lewis and Clark returned home overland). There are historic paintings of Lewis and Clark, as well as Sacagawea and York (the black man who astounded the Plains Indians), but it is these photographs of actual items that prove the most inspirational.

R. Conrad Stein provides a more than adequate introduction to the expedition known it is day as the Corps of Discovery, which left St. Louis in the spring of 1804 for a two year journey up the Missouri River, across the Rocky Mountains, and down the Columbia River to the Pacific Ocean. The goal was to explore the land the United States acquired in the Louisiana Purchase. One of the key consequences of the expedition that traveled 8,000 miles was that it proved, once and for all, that an inland waterway in North American did not exist. Part of the Cornerstones of Freedom volume on the Louisiana Purchase is devoted to the Lewis & Clark expedition, but this volume, of course, provides much more information.

Rating:
Summary: The Corps of Discovery explores the Louisiana Purchase
Review: Sometimes history comes alive through the details. In this Cornerstones of Freedom volume on the Lewis & Clark expedition there are two photographs of historic artifacts that certainly make the whole adventure come alive for me. First, there are pages from William Clark's journal which contains accounts of weather conditions and geographical observations, as well as sketches fo the scenery and wildlife. Second, there is a letter of credit, written by President Thomas Jefferson in his own hand, so that the expedition could return home by ship (it was never used as Lewis and Clark returned home overland). There are historic paintings of Lewis and Clark, as well as Sacagawea and York (the black man who astounded the Plains Indians), but it is these photographs of actual items that prove the most inspirational.

R. Conrad Stein provides a more than adequate introduction to the expedition known it is day as the Corps of Discovery, which left St. Louis in the spring of 1804 for a two year journey up the Missouri River, across the Rocky Mountains, and down the Columbia River to the Pacific Ocean. The goal was to explore the land the United States acquired in the Louisiana Purchase. One of the key consequences of the expedition that traveled 8,000 miles was that it proved, once and for all, that an inland waterway in North American did not exist. Part of the Cornerstones of Freedom volume on the Louisiana Purchase is devoted to the Lewis & Clark expedition, but this volume, of course, provides much more information.