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Lesson

Great Falls, Great Beauty, Great Difficulty: The Lewis and Clark Expedition and Diligence

Duration
45 min
Published
Nov 5, 2020
Indigenous people paddling canoes on a river surrounded by mountains and trees, depicted in a historical painting.
Students will explore the difficulties faced by the Lewis and Clark expedition as they faced the challenges of portaging around the unexpectedly vast Great Falls of the Missouri River. They will read and discuss the narrative and ask questions about identity, purpose, and motivation.

Founding Principles

Individual Responsibility, Private Virtue

Guiding questions

Walk-In-The-Shoes Questions
As you read, imagine you are the protagonist.

  • What challenges are you facing?
  • What fears or concerns might you have?
  • What may prevent you from acting in the way you ought?

Observation Questions

  • What were Lewis’s and Clark’s identities during this part of their voyage?
  • What were Lewis’s and Clark’s purposes during the journey?

Discussion Questions
Discuss the following questions with your students.

  • What is the historical context of the narrative?
  • What historical circumstances presented a challenge to the protagonist?
  • How and why did the individual exhibit a moral and/or civic virtue in facing and overcoming the challenge?
  • How did the exercise of the virtue benefit civil society?
  • How might exercise of the virtue benefit the protagonist?
  • What might the exercise of the virtue cost the protagonist?
  • Would you react the same under similar circumstances? Why or why not?
  • How can you act similarly in your own life? What obstacles must you overcome in order to do so?

Learning objectives

  • Read a narrative about the Lewis and Clark expedition at the point at which they arrive at the Great Falls of the Missouri River and subsequently portage around them.
  • Identify the steps Lewis and Clark took to overcome this difficulty.
  • Discuss the specific ways that Lewis and Clark’s actions in planning and implementing the unexpected portage demonstrated diligence.
  • Analyze the influence of Lewis and Clark’s diligence on the other members of the expedition, and subsequently on the United States during this stage of its development as a nation.
  • Have students compare themselves and their individual circumstances to Lewis and Clark and the members of their expeditionary team.

Lesson Components

ActivityGreat Falls, Great Beauty, Great Difficulty: The Lewis and Clark Expedition and Diligence – Handout A: Narrative

Standards

Advanced Placement

  • Perseverance,

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