The Lewis and Clark Expedition

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that Lewis and Clark managed to adhere to their objectives for the expedition handed out by Jefferson, including proclaiming American sovereignty in the West, advancing American trade, and promoting peace between Indian tribes, while attempting to establish a peaceful and profitable relationship with the Native American tribes. The author points out that, during their expedition, Lewis and Clark encountered nearly 50 Native American tribes, each with distinct and often characteristic responses to the white presence; some tribes provided the expedition with a great deal of assistance, others hindering the expedition. The paper relates that the expedition's plans to bring peace between the Indian tribes meant that the Americans would provide guns to the Nez Perces and the Shoshones; the Blackfoot opposed this plan, fearing that it would hurt their power in the region; therefore. the Blackfoot warriors tried to steal the expedition's guns.

From the Paper:

"Promoting peace between the Native American tribes was a complex process for which Lewis and Clark were little prepared. The Lewis and Clark expedition came upon the American Natives long after complex and lengthy histories of intertribal warfare had developed, making any intervention by the expedition temporary at best, and futile, at worst. The intricate trade network systems among the native tribes played an enormous role in the relative successes and failures of Lewis and Clark's inroads into Native American culture. Lewis and Clark knew little of the complexities of trade among the tribes, including the demanding and complex trade alliances between the Assiniboine and Manda/Hidata, and the trade between the Arikara and Teon Sioux."

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