News Release

Virtual The Enlightenment: Eighteenth Century Curiosity about Nation-Building, Science, Exploration and Jefferson’s Role in this Phenomenon

News Release Date: November 25, 2020

Contact: Sally Freeman, 503-861-4424

Lewis and Clark National Historical Park, Fort Clatsop announces the next virtual “In Their Footsteps” guest speaker series event.  Junius Rochester will present “The Enlightenment:  Eighteenth Century Curiosity about Nation-Building, Science, Exploration and Jefferson’s Role in this Phenomenon” on our youtube page at 1:00 p.m. Pacific time, Sunday, December 20.

This monthly Sunday on-line event is made possible by the Lewis & Clark National Park Association (LCNPA), the park’s non-profit partner. Since 1963, the LCNPA has supported education, interpretation, research, and community involvement. Purchases at the LCNPA’s Fort Clatsop Bookstore support programs such as “In Their Footsteps.”  For more LCNPA information, visit their website.

In December 1805, Meriwether Lewis and the Corps of Discovery arrived at the Pacific Ocean as a result of careful planning, outstanding leadership, military discipline, and the help of Native groups. The seeds of Lewis’s accomplishment were planted by Thomas Jefferson and others during one of the great intellectual and educational movements of human history. Sometimes known as the Age of Reason, documents, schools, debating societies, government reforms and scientific experiments characterized the Enlightenment. Jefferson’s view of the North American continent – from sea-to-sea – helped push the Oregon Country into the nation’s fold. 

Junius Rochester is the author of numerous history books and articles. He gives talks about regional history aboard riverboats, cruise ships and elsewhere. For seven years he was the Regional Historian at KUOW-FM, National Public Radio. In 2006, he received an Award of Merit from the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH), and in 2014 he was chosen Historian of the Year by the Pacific Northwest Historians Guild.

For more information, call the park at [phone], or lewisandclarknps on Instagram, or Lewis and Clark National Historical Park on Facebook.
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