Docsteach: Lewis & Clark's Expedition to the Complex West

This activity can be used as an introduction or for a closer study of the Lewis & Clark Expedition. Students will learn that the United States purchased the Louisiana Territory in 1803 and President Thomas Jefferson sent Lewis and Clark to explore west of the Mississippi River in 1804, though the land was already inhabited and politically complicated. Students will analyze primary sources demonstrating various political interests in the West, including the Spanish, French, British, and those of several Native American groups, and place them on a historic map of the West (created for the centennial of the Louisiana Purchase). Students will explore and understand that disparate parties were involved in the exploration and settling of the United States west of the Mississippi River.