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Download the PDFs required for this lesson plan Dayton Duncan Article: Elementary Dayton Duncan Article: Middle 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. This decision was particularly significant in that it was achieved through a democratic process that 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 weigh factors affecting where the Expedition spent the winter of 1805-06.
• Students will cast a vote for staying on the north shore, going to the south shore or moving inland up the Columbia River.
• Students will read an article and discuss the historical significance of the original vote.

Click to enter the online activity

This is an online activity that allows students to examine considerations the Expedition made when deciding where to spend the winter of 1805-06. Before casting their own vote students 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 completing the online activity, students will read, highlight and discuss an article that will give them more information about this historic event.

• Website
• Computer lab, smart board or LCD projector
• Overhead transparency of The Vote from Clark's journal
• Personal Lewis and Clark journal
• "Democracy At Station Camp" article - one per student
• Highlighter pen or post-it notes
• Teacher's Discussion Questions

1. Make an overhead transparency of The Vote from Clark's journal.
2. Print out the "Democracy At Station Camp" article that is appropriate for your age group and make enough copies to allow one for each student.
3. Print out a copy of the Teacher's Discussion Questions.

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 add a narrative describing how they are thinking and how they plan to vote.
5. After the notes are 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.
8. Hand out copies of the "Democracy at Station Camp" article appropriate to your age group, so that each student has his/her own copy to read. Discuss the guiding questions and then have students read the article highlighting or tabbing key details that help answer the questions. Ask students to mark their own questions and observations in preparation for a final discussion. A copy of the original article is also provided here for your own use.
9. 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. Keep in mind, though, that students may not have all of the information asked for in the questions; you may wish to share some of the answers that they don't have with them.

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?