LEWIS AND CLARK AND
The process of a living language is like the motion of a broad
river which flows with a slow, silent, irresistible current.
Noah Webster
CONNECTION TO LEWIS AND CLARK
Documents written by President Jefferson along with the journals
of Captain Lewis and Captain Clark provide a basis for comparing
the English language in America of two hundred years ago with that
of today.
OVERVIEW
The educational backgrounds of Jefferson, Lewis, and Clark are examined.
Samples of their use of the English language are given to demonstrate
some of the ways in which the English language has changed.
PURPOSES
IMPLEMENTATION
Like all living things, language must change to accommodate new
or different circumstances or it will die. If you have ever studied
the history of English literature, you know that English has changed
greatly since it emerged many centuries ago. For instance, Beowulf,
the oldest surviving example of English literature (eighth
century) is unreadable today by anyone but a handful of scholars.
By the twelfth century, English was looking a lot more like the
English we know today, but it still had a long way to go. For example,
Geoffrey Chaucer's epic poem Canterbury Tales (fourteenth
century) requires extensive interpretation for modern readers.
By the time of Shakespeare, a century or so later, English was just
beginning to emerge into its modern phase. Even so, understanding
Shakespeare's works and other great literature of that day still
requires a lot of footnotes. Of course, two hundred years from now,
someone will be writing the very same thing about the language of
our day.
During the colonization of North and South America (sixteenth
and seventeenth centuries), many European languages moved across
the Atlantic Ocean. In North America, the English language took
firm root as English colonies gradually dominated the scene. During
this transition, "American" English inevitably developed
differences from the "The King's English" of the mother
country.
The status of American English in the late eighteenth and early
nineteenth centuries is reflected in the journals of Lewis and Clark
and the writings of their mentor, Thomas Jefferson. All three men
were highly intelligent, but their disparate social and cultural
backgrounds influenced the ways in which they used their intellectual
gifts.
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUNDS
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson, politician and statesman, was not only a brilliant
man, but a privileged one as well. He was born into a wealthy, socially
prominent family that provided him with the best education America
had to offer at that time. In youth, he attended exclusive private
schools where he received a classical education including studies
in Latin and Greek. Later at the College of William and Mary (Williamsburg,
Virginia), he studied mathematics and science. He also studied law
with esteemed professors of that day and was admitted to the bar
in 1767. After practicing law for a time, he began a long and distinguished
career as an American patriot, writer, politician, ambassador, statesman,
and eventually President of the United States.
Although Jefferson was not known for his speaking ability, he was
a prolific and eloquent writer. In 1782 he responded to a set of
questions about the state of Virginia from Francois Barbe Marbois,
a prominent French official serving as envoy to the United States.
Jefferson's answers eventually were published in a book entitled
Notes on the State of Virginia. Readers should keep in mind that
the state of Virginia in Jefferson's day covered a lot more territory
than the present state of Virginia. When Jefferson was writing,
Virginia claimed all of the territory to the Northwest including
Ohio and lands to the Michigan/Canada border, and west to the Mississippi
River.
In his notes, Jefferson not only provided detailed answers to Barbe
Marbois' questions, but also included his own personal attitudes
on various subjects such as slavery, education, and government.
Although the "flowery" writing style he used was quite
common among the intellectuals of his day, his prose often seems
a bit grandiose to modern readers.
Meriwether Lewis
The family of Meriwether Lewis lived on a plantation not far from
that of Thomas Jefferson. The Lewis family was well off, but not
so wealthy or well known as the Jefferson family. When Lewis was
only five years old, his father died and his mother married Captain
John Marks a few months afterward. The Marks family relocated to
Georgia for a while, but Lewis returned to the Virginia plantation
at the age of fourteen. There he worked capably as an overseer and
was tutored by Reverend James Maury who had also tutored Thomas
Jefferson.
Even as a young boy, Lewis loved the out-of-doors. His mother was
an expert in the use of herbs for natural healing. Doubtlessly,
he learned a lot about plants from her. Being more a man of action
than a scholar, however, Lewis entered the military in 1793 where
he briefly served under the command of Lieutenant William Clark.
The two men became fast friends. By 1800, Lewis had earned the rank
of lieutenant. His big break came in 1801 when Thomas Jefferson,
the newly elected president of the United States, asked Lewis to
serve as his private secretary. Lewis eagerly accepted. In Washington
D. C., he lived in the White House where he "rubbed elbows"
with the President and met many of Jefferson's distinguished guests.
He also had access to Jefferson's extensive library.
In 1803, Jefferson secretly received approval from Congress to organize
a western expedition to be led by Lewis who had been promoted to
captain. To prepare Lewis for the journey, Jefferson sent him to
Philadelphia for a month to be briefed by distinguished scientists.
Judging from the high quality of his journal observations, Lewis
was a "quick study." The vivid, detailed descriptions
he wrote reveal his ability to assimilate "book" knowledge
with his personal experiences as woodsman, plantation manager, and
soldier. His writing style was similar to that of Jefferson—personal
musings mingled with precise scientific observations.
William Clark
William Clark was born in Virginia in 1770 not far from the birthplace
of Thomas Jefferson. Clark's parents were landholders with a large
family of six sons and four daughters. One of William's older brothers,
George Rogers Clark, was a Revolutionary War hero who defeated the
British on the American frontier. (For more information about George
Rogers Clark, click on http://www.statelib.lib.in.us/www/ihb/resources/grcbio.html
When William was fourteen years old, the Clark family moved to Kentucky.
They settled on a plantation near the Ohio River where George Rogers
Clark had built a fort. William probably received some formal education
or tutoring before the move, but life on the frontier did not lend
itself to regular schooling. In all likelihood, however, one or
more of his siblings tutored him at home
Five years after moving to Kentucky, Clark entered military service
and saw action in frontier Indian wars. Later, he became an officer
in the regular army but resigned in 1796 to help manage the Clark
family plantation. Clark remained in Kentucky until 1803 when his
army friend, Meriwether Lewis, asked him to go on a western expedition
with him.
Although Clark had little formal education, he was naturally gifted
in many ways. His outgoing personality made him a respected and
popular leader. Another of his talents was cartography-the drawing
of maps. In spite of the fact that he had no formal training in
math or cartography, his maps of the west were amazingly accurate.
(To view some of Clark's maps, click on http://www.pbs.org/lewisandclark/archive/maps.html.)
Captain Clark's journals are quite different from those of Lewis.
They are not as elegant or descriptive, but overall, they leave
the impression that Clark was a bold, practical, and reliable man.
On the lighter side, Clark also has the distinction of being one
of the worst spellers in American history. For example, Clark spelled
the word "Sioux" in his journals twenty-seven different
ways! (For a humorous account of Clark's innovative spelling, click
on http://www-writing.berkeley.edu/chorus/composition/wclark.html.)
Before poking too much fun at Clark's spelling, however, we should
bear in mind that public education and public libraries were virtually
nonexistent in those days. Even when books were available, they
were beyond the means of most people. Also, the first American dictionary
with standardized spelling was not published until 1806, the year
Clark returned from the expedition. (America's first dictionary
was written by Noah Webster, a schoolmaster from Connecticut. For
more about Noah Webster and his work, click on http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/lesson027.shtml.)
CONCLUSION
In order to demonstrate some of the ideas we have been talking about,
here are some exercises to do. (Hand out copies of OUR
CHANGING LANGUAGE. Have students do the exercises one by one,
discussing each section as they finish.)
ANSWERS TO WORKSHEET QUESTIONS
Jefferson: Meaning of words from Notes on the State of Virginia
1. banjar = banjo (different spelling)
2. batteau = flat-bottomed river boat
3. chirurgery = surgery (different spelling)
4. chuse = choose (different spelling)
5. firelocks = military term for a gun
6. gibbeting = death by hanging
7. matchcoat = a heavy wool overcoat used by the military
8. vestrymen = A group of churchmen appointed to oversee certain
church affairs such as provisions for the poor.
Meriwether Lewis
Think of English words in common use today that Captain Lewis would
never have heard. Write them on the lines below.
A few such words might be: computer, condo, hotdog, automobile,
telephone, skateboard, vacuum cleaner, radio, ball point pen, microwave,
Interstate, Internet, pizza, aircraft carrier, nuclear bomb, mini-skirt-----and
so on ad infinitum.
William Clark's Spelling
1. mockersons = moccasins
2. butifull = beautiful
3. parrot queets = parakeets
4. water millions = watermelons
5. muskeetors = mosquitos
6. roman Carthlick = Roman Catholic
7. medisan = medicine
8. Tooth ake = toothache
9. praries = prairies
10. serounding = surrounding
11. ancker = anchor
12. brackfast = breakfast
13. concill = council
14. durtey = dirty
15. lickerish = licorice
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