Interpret the Evidence and Put It in Context

Document Links:

Document 8.5 William Clark, Journal, October 12, 1804

Document 8.6 Charles McKenzie, Narrative of a Fur Trader, November 1804

Document 8.7 William Clark, Journal, November 18, 1804

Document 8.8 William Clark, Journal, January 28, 1805, and Meriwether Lewis, Journal, February 1, 1805

Document 8.9 Meriwether Lewis, Journal, August 20, 1805

Interpret the Evidence

  1. How do European traders and American explorers view the connection between trade with and peaceful relations among Indian nations (Documents 8.5 and 8.6)?

  2. After only a month living near the Mandan, how does William Clark describe relations among Indian nations in the region (Document 8.7)?

  3. What are the effects of Lewis and Clark’s willingness to trade war hatchets for food, and how does this fit with their desire for peace among the Mandan, Arikara, and other Indian nations (Documents 8.8 and 8.9)?

  4. What does Lewis’s willingness to promise guns to the Shoshone suggest about the Corps’ purpose as it encounters Indian nations living in the Spanish commercial sphere (Document 8.9)?

  5. Although these sources were written by white men, what can they tell us about Indian attitudes toward European traders and American explorers and their relations with other Indian nations (Documents 8.5 to 8.9)?

Put It in Context

What were the most significant problems faced by Indians as more European and American explorers and traders entered the region explored by the Corps of Discovery?

How did the Corps of Discovery influence relations among Indian nations in the West and with the United States?