Charles River Editors

*Perfect for ages 7-10

In Charles River Editors’ History for Kids series, your children can learn about history’s most important people and events in an easy, entertaining, and educational way. Pictures help bring the story to life, and the concise but comprehensive book will keep your kid’s attention all the way to the end.

It is the most fabled and storied journey in American history. From 1804-1806, the first expedition across the North American continent was commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson, who had recently bought a vast swath of territory from France. Though he knew he had bought a huge amount of land, Jefferson wasn’t entirely sure of what he had bought, so he asked a team led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to traverse the continent until they reached the Pacific, studying everything from the ecology to geography along the way to get an understanding of the country’s new region.

Lewis and Clark would find far more than they bargained for. The 33 members who made the trip came into contact with about two dozen Native American tribes, many of whom helped the men survive the journey. Though they suffered deaths on their way west, the group ultimately reached the Pacific coast and got back to St. Louis in 1806, having drawn up nearly 150 maps and giving America a good idea of much of what lay west.

As a young woman who was married to a French trapper from Quebec, Sacagawea happened to be in the right place at the right time for the legendary Lewis and Clark expedition, which set off for the Pacific coast after President Thomas Jefferson negotiated the Louisiana Purchase with France. The young Shoshone girl acted as a guide and interpreter for the expedition, helping it safely travel thousands of miles west from North Dakota to the Pacific over unfamiliar ground and amongst unfamiliar peoples. Put simply, the expedition could not have succeeded without her.

Michelle Humphries

History for Kids: Sacagawea and the Lewis & Clark Expedition

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