Lewis and Clark: America's Greatest Diplomats?

After reading chapter 2 of The American West I began to gain a new perspective on Captain Meriwether Lewis and his close friend Second Lieutenant William Clark as great diplomats in American history.

The fact is, Lewis and Clark encountered over 70 different Native American and Indigenous tribes during their journey. The goal of their journey to the pacific had four goals. The first was to establish trade relations with the various Indian tribes. The second was scientific exploration and the discovery of unknown plants and animals. The third was to determine if there was a water way that connected the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. The last but certainly not least important goal of the Lewis and Clark expedition was to formally tell every tribe they encountered that "They are now apart of the United States." With these 3 goals in mind Lewis and Clark need to be as diplomatic as possible in order for the mission appointed by President Jefferson to be a success. The problem was Meriwether Lewis and William Clark had know understanding of geopolitics. This was especially evident on the convoy's return to St. Louis when a skirmish ensued with the Blackfeet Indians. This would ruin Blackfeet-American relations for decades to follow.

The most common image people perceive when it comes to the Lewis and Clark expedition is the teenage Shoshone Indian girl, Sacagawea, leading William Clark and Meriwether Lewis across the Western United States; engaging the parties talks with various Indian tribes. This is completely inaccurate, Sacagawea rarely spoke to the other tribes. Lewis and Clark made all of the decisions when it came to where, when, and how the party would travel. Do you think two men appointed by the President of the United States would risk being led astray by a teenage Indian woman?  She more of a symbol to the Indian tribes that Lewis and Clark were traveling in peace and not a party of war, which is one of the more brilliant decisions of the expedition. Sacagawea was an integral role within the Lewis and Clark Exploration, just not in the same light as she is portrayed by many historians.

Now to answer the important question, Where Lewis and Clark potent diplomats?

I vehemently side with the fact that these two are the greatest diplomats in American history. Never again has America been able to peacefully trade and explore uncharted area like Lewis and Clark did from 1804 to 1806. I've said this once; I will say it again... the expedition encountered 70 different groups of people, with different languages, religions, beliefs, goods, locations. Imagine John Kerry and the Obama administration attempting to accomplish what Meriwether Lewis and William Clark did in the early 1800s... pretty scary huh? When most people think of Diplomacy or Diplomats, they think of foreign countries across the oceans, but after the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 relationships had to be made with the newly acquired Western United States. Without Lewis and Clark American Diplomacy with the Native Americans in the West would not have been possible.


-HJ