What Was the Lewis and Clark Expedition?

• By Judith St. George
• Paperback: 108 pages
• Ages: 8-12
• Grades: 3-7

• Product Description

• When Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, and the “Corp of Discovery” left St. Louis, Missouri, on May 21, 1804, their mission was to explore the vast, unknown territory acquired a year earlier in the Louisiana Purchase. The travelers hoped to find a waterway that crossed the western half of the United States. They didn’t. However, young readers will love this true-life adventure tale of the two-year journey that finally brought the explorers to the Pacific Ocean.

The National Archives is the keeper of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. But we also hold in trust for the public the records of ordinary citizens—for example, military records of the brave men and women who have fought for our country, naturalization records of the immigrants whose dreams have shaped our nation, and even the canceled check from the purchase of Alaska.

As of June 16, 2025, in the holdings of the National Archives there are approximately 13.5 billion pages of textual records; more than 725,000 artifacts; more than 450 million feet of film, or about 85,302 miles (enough to circle the earth almost 3.4 times): 41 million photographs; 40 million aerial images; 10 million maps, charts, architectural and engineering drawings; more than 33 billion electronic records (1 petabyte). All of these materials are preserved because they are important to the workings of Government, have long-term research value, or provide information of value to citizens.