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Lewis and Clark
(1804-1806)

Lewis and Clark - Who Were They?

Lewis and Clark - Who Were They?
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   high interest, readability grades 3 to 5
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   4.18

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    commit, moody, remarried, phrase, education, grave, journey, impossible, adventure, great, twice, longer, public, secretary, personal, west
     content words:    United States, Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, Then Congress, William Clark, Revolutionary War, Louisiana Territory, After Lewis, Missouri Territory, Indian Affairs

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Lewis and Clark - Who Were They?
By Cathy Pearl 		  
1     Lewis and Clark were sent on a great adventure. They had to explore a land that not many people had seen before. It was the chance to go on a great journey. It was also a chance to do something wonderful for their country.
 
2     In 1803, the United States bought a lot of land west of the Mississippi. It made the United States twice as big. But not many people had ever been to this new land. They didn't know a lot about it. Congress gave money so people could go explore the new land. This was how the journey of Lewis and Clark began.
 
3     Meriwether Lewis was born in Virginia. It was 1774. His father died when he was only five years old. Lewis's mother had three small children to raise. She also had a large plantation to run. Soon, she remarried. He went to school from the ages of thirteen to eighteen. When he was eighteen, his stepfather died. Lewis had to go home and run the plantation.
 
4     In 1794, Lewis joined the Army. He became a Captain. In 1801, he received a letter from Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson asked Lewis to be his private secretary. Lewis quickly took the job. Then Congress gave the money to explore the new land. Jefferson made Lewis the leader of the trip.
 
5     Lewis started to work on the trip. He thought he would need someone to help him lead. He asked his friend, William Clark, if he would help him. Clark was also born in Virginia in 1770. He was a lot like Lewis. Clark had also been in the Army. Clark was the brother of a hero from the Revolutionary War. Clark also left the Army to run a family plantation.

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