Introduction

On January 18, 1803, President Thomas Jefferson requested money from Congress. The money would enable Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, and about 30 other explorers to map a water route from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean.

It is 1804. You will be traveling with the Corps of Discovery from Washington, D.C. to St. Louis, Missouri, where Lewis and Clark will begin their journey You will be working for the United States Government -your job is to gather information about plants, animals, Native Americans, and the geography of the West and report back to the President and Congress.

You will participate in research by: sifting though real journal entries written by Lewis and Clark; studying old maps and letters; examining photographs of strange looking animals and plants; stomping through the rivers and swamps with Sacagawea, uncovering the life of the Native Americans and viewing lands and rivers that had never been seen before by white Americans back East.You will do all of your research using the Internet! Your job is to present your findings to the President and the United Stated Congress when you return.

Historical Background

In 1801, Thomas Jefferson became the third President of the United States and began searching for a way to expand the nation toward the western area of the continent of North America. It was believed that the United States could become more powerful by finding a "northwest passage," or a waterway across the continent to the Pacific Ocean. Such a passage would allow easier trade with countries across the Pacific.

It was also important to Jefferson to convince the settlers in the west to become part of the United States, since other countries were trying their best to stake claim to different parts of the continent. People doubted that one nation could ever govern that much territory, but Jefferson would not give up. He read many books and talked with explorers about what the West was like.

Your title page should include the following information:

• Title of your presentation
• The date (the date of your presentation to President Jefferson ann the United States Congress)
• The names of the people in your group

Introduction (entire group works together)

Answer the following questions:

1. What were the beginning and ending dates of the journey?

http://www.pbs.org/lewisandclark/archive/idx_time.html

2. What was the purpose of the expedition?
http://www.lewisandclark.com/facts/faqs.html#why

http://www.nps.gov/jeff/LewisClark2/CorpsOfDiscovery/CorpsOfDiscoveryMain.htm

3. What exactly did President Jefferson want Lewis and Clark to find? Why?
http://www.sierraclub.org/lewisandclark/report00/rivers.asp

4. What was the Louisiana Purchase?
http://www.lewisandclark.com/facts/faqs.html#loupur

Body (each person in your group chooses a topic)

The main body of your presentation will contain at least 24 slides. Each person will create 6 slides (or more) using the questions below , in the "tasks" section.

Conclusion (entire group works together)

Answer these final three questions only after doing all your research and completing all the other tasks in this web quest:

1. In your opinion, was the expedition successful?

2. Was it a good idea for President Jefferson to spend the government's money on the expedition? Why or why not?

3. How did the exploration ultimately affect the Native Americans living in the West? Do you think that buying the Louisiana Purchase and the US government's westward expansion changed the Native American's lives for better or for worse? Explain your position.