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The Landmark series for children, both American and World, is a wonderful, with few exceptions, collection of books written in the 1950s and 1960s and published by Random House. The publisher chose well-known authors, some of whom were novelists and some of whom had not written for children before, and had a historical consultant for each title to make sure that the writing was accurate. There are 122 American Landmark books and 63 World Landmark books. The reading level is fairly broad, intended for upper elementary to early high school levels. The books were intended to convey sound history or biography but in such a manner as to not detract from the intrinsic interest of the story, as history textbooks often do, but to bring out the fascination and drama of the history or historical character being discussed. History is at heart a series of stories, especially at this level, and should be told as such. For the overwhelming majority of the 185 titles, this effort was successful.
Number 15 in the American Landmark series is The Lewis and Clark Expedition, by Richard L. Neuberger. In my opinion, this is one of the best American Landmark books, in writing and in subject matter. Who were Meriweather Lewis and William Clark? If you were to compile a list of the five greatest American explorers, you would have to include Captains Lewis and Clark, who commanded the Corps of Western Discovery, 1804 to 1806. They were commissioned by President Jefferson to explore the Louisiana Purchase, which he had bought for the young USA just two years before. The price is considered cheap, now, but then the purchase price was the size of the total government annual income! This purchase doubled the size of the United States but was largely unknown. Lewis and Clark had the task of exploring, cataloguing, and trailblazing this enormous piece of territory. They successfully returned, after a two-year non-stop adventure, with thousands of scientific specimens and new maps that together showcased the riches of this new part of our country. Today, if you were to follow any part of their route through the 15 states that came from the Louisiana Purchase, you will find the names of Lewis and Clark attached to many locations.
The way Lewis and Clark led the men, worked together, and their character deepens the story for me. There is no record in their extensive journals or in the writings of some of the men in the expedition of any argument between the two captains. What is even more astonishing, Clark was not even a real captain. He had left the army as a brevet captain, which means he had been temporarily appointed to that rank because of some need. Lewis persuaded him to rejoin, promising his friend that they would be equal in rank, both captains, and would lead the expedition as co-equals. When Clark rejoined, the army would only take him at the level of lieutenant, his last permanent rank. Lewis then told Clark that as far as he, Lewis, was concerned, he was a captain and his equal and would treat him so in front of the men in the Corps of Discovery. The leadership of these two men of integrity, bravery, intelligence, and outstanding character resulted in an amazingly successful expedition that opened up most of the western half of our country to settlement and development.