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Lewis & Clark: From Expedition to Exposition, 1803-1905
In 1905, Portland boosters mounted the Lewis & Clark Exposition to promote the region's commercial potential. The centennial's connection to the Lewis & Clark Expedition a century before was mostly suggestive except that both enterprises had ties to economic expansion in the name of an ambitious nation. By revisiting both events we might identify our own purposes for commemorating the Corps of Discovery's bicentennial. William L. Lang is professor of history at Portland State University. He has authored and edited numerous works on the history of the American West, including Great River of the West: Essays on the Columbia River. Carl Abbott is professor of urban studies and planning at Portland State University and co-editor of the Pacific Historical Review. He has published extensively on the history of city planning, the evolution of U.S. urban policy, and the relationships between urban growth and regional development.">
compiled by William L. Lang & Carl Abbott
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Introduction
The bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark Expedition provides an opportunity to look at three chapters in the larger American epic, one in 1805, a second in 1905, and our own in 2005.
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Exploring a Foreign Place: The Lewis & Clark Expedition in Oregon Country
When the Corps of Discovery crossed the Continental Divide on their way west in 1805, they entered a vast region that lay beyond the territories claimed by the United States. What the explorers did in the Columbia River Basin, who they met, and how they reacted to what they saw influenced subsequent events in Oregon. In a genuine way, the Lewis and Clark Expedition is the beginning of the non-Indian history of Oregon.
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Starting a Second Century: The Lewis & Clark Centennial Exposition, 1905
The Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition of 1905 offers a window into the history of Portland and the rest of Oregon. At this, the first world’s fair on the West Coast, Oregonians celebrated the past and staked a claim on the future. Oregon had grown by harvesting its natural bounty from forests, fields, and rivers for national and international markets. In the coming decades, Oregonians hoped to produce more and sell its products more widely around the rim of the Pacific Ocean, a vision of the future that has largely come to pass.
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