• Student Page
• Introduction
• Task
• Process
• Evaluation
• Conclusion
• Teacher Page
• Credits

- Introduction -

During the time of Lewis and Clark, many of the medical treatments we take for granted today were unknown. A few important discoveries were being made, but for the most part the practice of medicine was very primitive. Typical therapies, intended to rid the body of disease-producing matter, included bleeding, purging, sweating, blistering, and vomiting. Patients were about as likely to die from their treatments as from their diseases. Lewis and Clark had no formal medical training, but then neither did 90% of the physicians of the time. Most physicians trained by serving as apprentices to practicing physicians. Dr. Benjamin Rush was in the minority – he received formal medical training at a medical school in Europe. At President Jefferson's request, Dr. Rush served as Meriwether Lewis's medical advisor prior to the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

In this WebQuest, you and your partner will explore the medical challenges faced by Lewis and Clark and their men during their 29-month journey. As you work through this WebQuest, don't forget President Jefferson's instructions:

"To your own discretion therefore must be left to the degree of danger you may risk, and the point at which you should decline, only saying we wish you to err on the side of your safety, and to bring back your party safe even if it be with less information."

—President Thomas Jefferson to Meriwether Lewis, June 20, 1803