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Download the PDFs required for this lesson plan Dayton Duncan Original Article Teacher's Discussion Questions

A variety of factors led to the choice of the Expedition to spend the winter at Fort Clatsop. The decision was particularly significant in that it was achieved through a democratic process, despite the fact that the Corps was a military unit, and that it involved non-white, non-American and non-male individuals. By studying the conditions under which the vote occurred and participating in a simulated vote, we can better understand the impact that this event had, both on the Expedition itself as well as future generations who would examine it.

• Why did Lewis and Clark choose to have members of the Expedition vote on the location of their winter camp rather than execute an order?
• What were the key factors that affected the decision to stay at Fort Clatsop?
• What is the historical significance of the vote and what was the impact of its result?

• Students will participate in an online activity, considering various factors and casting their own votes.
• Students will discuss their decisions and the rationale behind them.
• Students will read an article and answer questions regarding the historical significance of the vote and its result.

Click to enter the online activity

This is a two-part lesson that includes an online activity as well as a reading and writing exercise. The online portion will allow students to examine factors considered by members of the Expedition when deciding where to spend the winter of 1805-06. Before casting their own votes, students will scan an interactive map examining the significant factors weighed by all the members of Lewis and Clark’s group. Acting as Corps members themselves, students will record factors that shape their decisions in an online journal, preparing them to cast their own votes. After comparing votes, students will read an article and reflect upon the historical significance of this event.

• Computer lab, smart board or LCD projector
• Overhead transparency of The Vote from Clark’s journal.
• Dayton Duncan article - one copy per student
• Teacher’s Discussion Questions
• Highlighter pen or post-it notes
• Personal Lewis and Clark journal

1. Make an overhead transparency of The Vote from Clark's journal.
2. Print out the Dayton Duncan article and make enough copies to allow one for each student.
3. Print out a copy of the Teacher’s Discussion Questions.
4. Write the Essential Questions listed above on the board or an overhead projector. Students will refer to these during the reading activity of Part Two.

Anticipatory Set (Schema): Have you ever voted? Describe the circumstances of the vote? Why were you asked to vote? Was it something that adults normally decided for you? How did it feel to be part of the decision-making process?

1. Make the online activity page available to students in the way that works best for you. Either a computer lab or a whole class display such as an LCD projector or a smart board would be appropriate, although a computer lab will allow for more individual interaction with the material.
2. Let students know that they will be using the information in the activity to participate in a virtual vote. Give them some background about what actually happened during the Expedition , emphasizing the fact that Lewis and Clark asked each of the Corps members to state their opinion about where to spend the winter. The In Their Words pages may be useful in sharing this information with your class. Later, we will discuss in more detail the significance of the vote.
3. Have students follow the prompts on the activity page, recording notes in the online journal to help inform their decision.
4. Tell students to copy their final online notes into their own Lewis and Clark journal. Each student should provide a narrative describing their thought process and how he or she plans to vote.
5. After the notes have been recorded in their personal journals they should vote!
6. Gather the class and create a Double-T-Chart to record all the votes. Head each column with the three location choices. As you list each student and record his/her vote discuss what factors impacted their decision the most.
7. Show the overhead of Clark’s journal page and compare results.

This may be given as homework or done in class.

1. Pass out copies of the Dayton Duncan article.
2. Ask students to review the prompting questions on the board or overhead projector and to keep them in mind as they read the article.
3. Have students read the article, highlighting information pertaining to the questions as well as other information that they find important. Encourage them to write notes or questions in the margin that may be useful later in discussion.
4. Follow-up may be done in partners or small groups. Ask students to share and discuss what they’ve found. Then return to the whole class to compare responses. Use the Teacher’s Discussion Questions to help you lead the conversation.

From March 31st to April 7th the Corps camped at Washougal. Here they gathered supplies and prepared to head upriver. Had the vote gone another way, this likely could have been the spot for the winter camp.

Have students research average temperatures and rainfall at Washougal, Celilo Falls and other locations that the Corps could have chosen for their winter headquarters instead of Fort Clastop. What would life at a mythical “Fort Multnomah” or a “Narrows Fort” have been like? Ask them to compare conditions at these places with those at Fort Clatsop. In hindsight, did the Corps make the best decision?