William Clark

Daily Pic (Lewis and Clark Expedition)

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‘Ocian in view! O! The joy.’ – William Clark

At Lewis and Clark National and State Historical Parks, you can walk in the steps of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, who arrived at the Pacific near the mouth of the Columbia River on this day in 1805. It was 1 year, 6 months, and a day after the Corps of Discovery left St. Louis, Missouri, on its mission to explore the Pacific Northwest. Upon seeing the ocean, Clark wrote in his journal: ‘Ocian in view! O! The joy.’ (Clark’s journal was full of misspellings.)

Shortly after arriving on the West Coast, the expedition voted to spend the winter near present-day Astoria, where they constructed Fort Clatsop. Today, the areas where Lewis and Clark reached the Pacific and constructed Fort Clatsop are preserved in the Lewis and Clark National and State Historical Parks, which include Ecola State Park, seen here. It’s a popular destination for visitors hoping to learn more about this pivotal chapter in American history while also enjoying the scenic Oregon coast.

Daily Pic 11/15/17

© Yann Arthus-Bertrand/Getty Images

Newly planted olive groves, Zaghouan, Tunisia



Today in History 11/15 (Lewis and Clark Expedition)

The site of Fort Clatsop established by Lewis & Clark’s expedition in 1805 (© Bettmann Archive/Getty Images)(1805) Lewis and Clark reach the Pacific
About 18 months into their Corps of Discovery expedition, Lewis and Clark reach the Pacific Ocean at the mouth of the Columbia River. The expedition will camp at Fort Clatsop for the winter before its return trip east begins in March.
The Lewis and Clark Expedition from May 1804 to September 1806, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the first American expedition to cross the western portion of the United States. It began near St. Louis, made its way westward, and passed through the Continental Divide of the Americas to reach the Pacific coast. The Corps of Discovery was a selected group of US Army volunteers under the command of Captain Meriwether Lewis and his close friend Second Lieutenant William Clark.
Start date: May 14, 1804
End date: Sep 23, 1806

Route of the Lewis and Clark Expedition
Route of the expedition
wiki/Lewis_and_Clark_Expedition
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(1805) Lewis and Clark reach the Pacific.
Also on this day,

1777 | 1st US constitution as thirteen colonies unite to form a new country
The Second Continental Congress approves the Articles of Confederation, which unifies the 13 American colonies under a weak central government and names this new country the United States of America. The document, a precursor to the Constitution, will be ratified by the states on March 1, 1781.
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Today in History 11/15/17

Drawing of (from left) John Adams, Governor Morris, Alexander Hamilton, and Thomas Jefferson of the Continental Congress (Public domain)(1777) Thirteen colonies unite to form a new country
The Second Continental Congress approves the Articles of Confederation, which unifies the 13 American colonies under a weak central government and names this new country the United States of America. The document, a precursor to the Constitution, will be ratified by the states on March 1, 1781.

The Articles of Confederation, formally the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, was an agreement among the 13 original states of the United States of America that served as its first constitution. Its drafting by a committee appointed by the Second Continental Congress began on July 12, 1776, and an approved version was sent to the states for ratification on November 15, 1777. The Articles of Confederation came into force on March 1, 1781, after being ratified by all 13 states. A guiding principle of the Articles was to preserve the independence and sovereignty of the states. The federal government received only those powers which the colonies had recognized as belonging to king and parliament.

The Articles formed a war-time confederation of states, with an extremely limited central government. While unratified, the document was used by the Congress to conduct business, direct the American Revolutionary War, conduct diplomacy with foreign nations, and deal with territorial issues and Native American relations. The adoption of the Articles made few perceptible changes in the federal government, because it did little more than legalize what the Continental Congress had been doing. That body was renamed the Congress of the Confederation; but Americans continued to call it the Continental Congress, since its organization remained the same.

As the Confederation Congress attempted to govern the continually growing American states, delegates discovered that the limitations placed upon the central government rendered it ineffective at doing so. As the government's weaknesses became apparent, especially after Shays' Rebellion, individuals began asking for changes to the Articles. Their hope was to create a stronger national government. Initially, some states met to deal with their trade and economic problems. However, as more states became interested in meeting to change the Articles, a meeting was set in Philadelphia on May 25, 1787. This became the Constitutional Convention. It was quickly realized that changes would not work, and instead the entire Articles needed to be replaced. On March 4, 1789, the government under the Articles was replaced with the federal government under the Constitution. The new Constitution provided for a much stronger federal government by establishing a chief executive (the President), courts, and taxing powers.


Articles of Confederation - Page 1
The Articles of Confederation, ratified in 1781. This was the format for the United States government until the Constitution.

wiki/Articles_of_Confederation
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