 MSU Historian Describes Lewis and Clark's America
Anyone fascinated by close elections and heated campaigns should have been alive during the days of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark.
Montana State University history professor Billy Smith says, "The
election of 1800 almost matched the kind of things we have heard
over the last few years
Providing historical context for the Lewis and Clark expedition
during a recent lecture at the Museum of the Rockies, Smith said
mud was definitely flung in the election of 1800. Thomas
Jefferson was accused of having a mistress. She was Sally
Hemmings, one of his 200 slaves (DNA tests show the accusations
probably were valid). Jefferson was also called a "contemptible
hypocrite" by Alexander Hamilton who wanted to be a member of the
elite, but was derided himself for being born in the West Indies
to unmarried parents.
" This was an election of extreme emotions," Smith remarked. "As
in our own time, a lot of personal slandering occurred."
When the election was finally held, Jefferson and Aaron Burr tied
for electoral votes, and the country experienced a week of havoc.
Then, after Jefferson became president, he exercised his power in
a fashion he had criticized in his predecessors. He approved, for
example, the Louisiana Purchase without first seeking
Congressional consent.
It was Jefferson who sent Lewis to Philadelphia in 1803 to
prepare for his 1804-1806 expedition, Smith said. Philadelphia
was the political, cultural and economic capital at the time, and
Lewis spent four to six weeks there, buying supplies and
consulting with experts.
Philadelphia was also alive with botanists and activities
involving natural history, added Stuart Knapp of Bozeman, member
of the national Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Council and a
long-time lecturer on Lewis and Clark.
"The scientific community in the East Coast was striving to be
recognized and appreciated by the European-British scientific
societies," Knapp explained. "That was part of the reason the
Philadelphia Academy of Science was started. ... People in the
area had been collectors, primarily of botany. That influenced
Jefferson, which in turn, influenced the order given to Lewis and
Clark to look for vegetables and plants that the Indians were
using."
While in Philadelphia, Lewis undoubtedly would have seen
Independence Hall, the major political symbol at the time, Smith
continued. He may have frequented the luxurious City Tavern for
wealthy merchants and noticed the Philadelphia Almshouse just six
blocks away.
The two demonstrated the growing disparity of wealth in the new
nation, Smith said.
Smith added that America's economy was booming in the early 19th
century, especially in cities based on commerce.
"When Lewis was walking the Philadelphia streets, he was probably
aware of the kinds of things produced in America, especially in
the mid-Atlantic and southern states since much of it was shipped
through the port," Smith said. "He might also have noticed the
beginning of industrialization."
Lewis, a southern slave owner, may have been startled to see
thousands of free African Americans in Philadelphia, Smith said.
They had gained their liberty because they fought in the
Revolutionary War, escaped during the war or were released by
owners with a crisis of conscience. Lewis probably would have
seen Native Americans in Philadelphia, as well. Eastern Indians,
during this era, fought white Americans to maintain their
homeland and struggled to revitalize their cultures.
Knapp said Lewis would find a much different scene when he headed
west.
"It (the West) was essentially a place that was full of native
grasses, 40 million bison or thereabout, and grizzly bears on the
plains who lived primarily on the bison," Knapp said.
The humans Lewis and Clark encountered were mostly Indians. The
only African American they saw was Clark's slave, York. The only
other whites who spent time in the area were French, British and
Spanish explorers or trappers, but Knapp can't remember Lewis and
Clark running into them.
American politics back east, however, were dominated by wealthy,
educated white males who owned substantial property, Smith said.
Believing they were best qualified to make decisions for others,
they were the ones who could vote. Poor white males, women,
African Americans and Native Americans generally were
disenfranchised.
Smith's lecture was part of a spring series on research being
done by museum curators and MSU professors, said Francie McLean,
Director of Education. The final two lectures will be given at 7
p.m. April 12 and 26. The first looks at Joshua Crissman,
"Yellowstone's Forgotten Photographer." The second focuses on
Wayne Trivelpiece's 25 years in the Antarctic. Lectures are free
to museum members and MSU students and $2 for others.
Evelyn Boswell
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