How did Lewis & Clark know where to go?

On May 14, 1804 The Corps of Discovery led by Captains Merriweather Lewis & William Clark began their journey across western North America, into completely unexplored and unmapped territory. At least that’s what is commonly thought. But was the west really unexplored?

Social Media
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Book Sources
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"Mapping the West with Lewis & Clark" by Ralph E. Ehrenberg & Herman J. Viola
"Undaunted Courage" by Stephen Ambrose

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[GeographyGeek]

Thank you RareMaps.com for supporting another video! Their maps and descriptions are a huge part of the research and visuals that go in these videos. You can purchase your own map related to the Lewis & Clark expedition on it from their website. - RareMaps.com/

[PanikStudios]

Those continental outlines of the maps are bloody accurate given the level of technology at time. Highly impressed by work the cartographers of the past.

[jwelchon]

The Lewis and Clark expedition was a spectacular achievement when you consider they made it back alive. Especially when compared to the Burke expedition in Australia where everyone died in a land where there was plenty of water and thousands of people lived.

[jimlambrick]

Long, long before L&C, French-Canadian fur traders had pretty thoroughly made it to virtually every nook and cranny of the West. And they had been 'exploring' since the 1500's. They just didn't write books about it or draw maps. L&C frequently mention them as being their guides. They lived with and totally integrated with the Indian tribes and were the agents in selling their furs to big Montreal fur trading companies. The Metis people, still very common in Canada and parts of US are the result of intermarriage Indian/French. Many place names as far south as Texas have French names.

[rogerdudra]

Having been a student of this trip for 50 years at least, it is good to hear well researched information accurately related for a change.

[Gruuvin]

They knew what they were doing, when Aerosmith told them to, "Walk This Way!"

[chrisvickers]

Alexander Mackenzie of the Hudson's Bay Company had crossed North America overland in 1793 and had published a map of his travels in 1801 so they could have had access to his map but he travelled far to the north of their crossing, over 1000 km north. Other than showing it could be done I'm not sure how useful it was for them.

[jovanweismiller]

Thank you for mentioning Sir Alexander Mackenzie! "Alex MacKenzie / from Canada / by land / 22d July 1793", ten years before the Corps of Discovery. A proud Canuck!

[crusherbmx]

This was great! Peter Fidler and David Thompson could be considered the Canadian/British version of Lewis and Clark. Famous, but not even close to as famous as Lewis and Clark. They have a lot of things named after them, including two streets in my neighbourhood. I'm related to Perter Fidler, actually...well, being a map maker, he got around, A LOT of people on the Canadian Prairies are related to him...

[maybxx]

Excellent, informative video- thank you. I’m glad it gives credit to the American Indians and their contributions.
Of note, only Lewis was a captain in the eyes of the army. Clark was commissioned for the expedition as a first lieutenant, despite Lewis’ request he be made a captain and co-leader. Lewis kept that information from the expedition members, and they lead the expedition as equals.
I mention that in no way to nitpick the content in your video. It’s just interesting that they’re always referred to as equals- and should be- but at the time the government only had one leader in mind.

[TM-yniu]

I've read much on the Lewis and Clark journey and accomplishments. Your video and references that support it, provide so many more facts that are not so much exposure - rather an understanding of reality. Much appreciated.

[BigboiiTone]

Wow aerosmith has been on tour forever but I didn't think for THAT long :pp

[davidford]

So glad to see the record set straight at last. A little surprised to see how little mention David Thompson got. His exploration map of the Columbia was right on their route.

[johnking]

Magnificent journey of information. The stories of our ancestors are best not forgotten. Thanks.

[KevinOutdoors]

Excellent video. Glad to see mention of Alexander McKenzie and the greatest explorer of North America, David Thompson. Too often their achievements are lost in telling the tale of Lewis and Clark. McKenzie's travels were one of the factors that inspired Jefferson to send Lewis and Clark west, he felt the U.S. was behind in exploring the west.

[arailway]

Nice work, Geography Geek.
While I love maps, the L&C expedition was a hard trek,
pulling a boat up river by leg power, crossing the Rockies
where one mountain rose behind another,
getting the drizzling $h*ts, reaching the coast and spending
the winter then turning around and making the whole trip back again.
In the course of "history" we forget that L&C only made it once.
A Delaware Indian named Black Beaver made it up the Missouri
seven times.

[AmazingPhilippines]

Love maps and history so thanks for both!

[hdufort]

They had a French Canadian guide, who had extensive knowledge of the west, including knowledge of the tribes and language families. It's really strange that you have ignored this in your video. Look up Toussaint Charbonneau.

[philpaine]

I've just watched this video, sitting comfortably at home on the couch with a cup of coffee. To either side of me are my two cats, Thompson & Mackenzie. And yes, they are named after David Thompson and Alexander Mackenzie. The weird thing is that, while they were named when they were kittens of the same litter, they grew up to have distinctive personalities that very closely match each of their namesakes.
I would be delighted to see your planned video on David Thompson, and I would offer a tidbit that biographers have generally missed. Thompson had great facility with First Nations languages, and he kept detailed notes of every language he encountered. From these notes, he was able to construct what he judged to be the relationships between these languages, which belonged to the same family, how close or far they were to each other. And his judgment was pretty much correct. His biographers simply mention this as a detail, without realizing it's significance. Thompson was, all on his own, independently applying the techniques of Linguistic Typology that DID NOT YET EXIST in the world of linguistics. He was doing this before Adelung, Bopp, Humboldt, etc. laid the groundwork for this science, and a hundred years before von der Gabelentz's "Sprachwissenschaft", he was doing typology on that level. As a cartographer and explorer, Thompson was no doubt one of the greatest. He started as an impoverished charity-school urchin, was in Canada by the age of 14, working as an indentured servant of the Hudson's Bay Company. After a lifetime of spectacular accomplishments, he died in poverty near Montreal. His Métis wife, Charlotte, shared many of his adventures, and they remained a faithful couple for 58 years. When Thompson died, she was forced to sell his precious surveying equipment to pay off debts, but she expired within months of her beloved. Thompson was known to the First Nations as "The Stargazer".

[bigred]

Another wonderful video! Keep up the great content!!!