Lewis and Clark film script
Narrator/Thomas Jefferson: Gabby Contratto
Meriwether Lewis:Nadine Syed Jefri
William Clark: Liat Spector
Sacagewea:Clarissa Salem
Louisiana Purchase
Narrator: What lies beyond the mountains that separated the United states from the West side?
[Insert map of U.S. before exploration]
Narrator: That was unknown to President Jefferson and the rest of America.
[Switch out to President Jefferson (pretend) writing down important president stuff]
Thomas Jefferson was the third president of the United States. On March 6th, 1801, Jefferson had asked Meriwether Lewis, who fought in the Whiskey Rebellion, to be his secretary aide.
[Shot of Meriwether Lewis irl then switch to portraits (back and forth for this sect.)]
Narrator:Meriwether Lewis is described as a man of temper and black moods. Lewis was born August 15th, 1774. His parents, William Lewis and Lucy Meriwether, had many children of which Meriwether Lewis was the first son and second child of the family. The Lewis family had lived at the Albemarle County in Virginia, near Charlottesville.
[Sceneshot of young children(Lewis children) running around]
[fadeout to William Clark(same order as Lewis)]
Narrator: William Clark was quite the opposite of his partner, Lewis. Clark, who was born August 18th,1770, was one of the six children of John Clark III and Ann Rogers. Clark was a man of adventure as was his family line. Clark served alongside Lewis in the Whiskey Rebellion, thus developing a deep mutual respect for each other.
[Quick shot of Lewis and Clark handoshake]
[fadeout]
[slide that says "Spring of 1806" and go to scene of Jefferson asking Lewis to lead]
Narrator:Jefferson had chosen Meriwether Lewis to lead the expedition to uncover the West. As he was chosen for the position, Lewis had requested Clark to join him as co-captain.
[Shot of Meriwether Lewis writing letter-transition-picture of the letter]
Narrator:William Clark responded that he would gladly join his partner in hand and heart.
[Shot of Clark writing response for like 3 seconds]
Narrator:In March 14th, 1804, the Corps of Discovery had began the expedition.
[Corps of Discovery leave on a boat and go away]
Narrator:[act this too]Two days into the journey and Lewis slipped while collecting a specimen. He almost lost his life. As the group went along their path, they had met Indians and gave them peace medals with Jefferson's face on it. Meriwether Lewis had spoken, or tried to speak to the Indians. Lewis had thought that they understood, but he was actually screaming "STRANGER" to them. Thus, the Indians were a bit confused and scared.
[fadeout to grave scene]
Lewis: Today, August 20th, 1804, marks one of the unfortunate days. I could not save the man. Sergent Charles Floyd had expired too early, taking away the pain he suffered in his core.
[November 24th,1804]
Narrator: [meeting Sacagewea and guest as Charbonneau scene]The Corps of Discovery had met a French fur trapper, Toussaint Charbonneau, and his pregnant Shoshone wife, Sacagawea. They'd become the Discovery corps's guides and interpreters. As they went along the journey, Sacagawea became more useful. She taught Lewis and Clark many things they needed to know in order to survive.
[Finding the river false scene]
Narrator:On August 12th, 1805, Lewis had found a water streaming down. He'd thought he had finally found the Pacific Ocean. He and his men were happy until they reached the top. All they saw was more mountains.
Lewis:(Angry screaming people can hear)
[Lots of land crossing]
Narrator: The Discovery Corps had gotten horses soon from the Shoshone after discovering the reunion of Sacagwea and her brother who was Chief Cameawait. They had crossed much land and almost starved in the mountains.
[November 7th, 1805]
Clark: "Ocian in view! O the joy!"(I'm sorry but the opportunity was there and I took it)
Narrator:(ACT THIS SCENE)Said Clark although they were 20 miles or so from the ocean. Unfortunately, the Corps of Discovery couldn't go back instantly. Once they got to Portland, Oregon, it began to rain. The crew spent their time at Fort Clatsop, named after the nearby tribe. They weren't happy at Fort Clatsop because the crew didn't have any merry weather. It was all rain. Only 12 days without it. Once the rain stopped, the Discovery Corps headed back home. It took 6 months to get back.
[Scene where Sacagawea waves goodbye to crew]
Narrator: As for Sacagawea, there are different stories of what happened to her. Some said she had died a few years after the journey ended. Others say she returned to the Shoshone and lived to 100 years old. Her son, Jean Baptiste Charbonneau had been adopted by William Clark.
[Switch to Lewis looking into the distance and doing whatever he usually does]
Narrator: Lewis and Clark had lead very different paths in life. Meriwether Lewis had been named Governer of Louisiana territory. On October 11, 1809, Meriwether Lewis had been found in Grinder's Stand, with two gunshot wounds, dead. Some say he was murdered and others said he had committed suicide. To this day it is still unknown.
William Clark had led a successful life. He had gained a wife and 10 children. Clark was also announced official Indian agent of the West. He was also named brigadier general of the Louisiana territory's militia. William Clark passed away on September 1, 1838 at his oldest son's home whom he named after his co-captain and friend, Meriwether Clark Lewis.
Now the Lewis and Clark expedition introduced the opening of the West. The expedition had created a path for future pioneers. They didn't exactly find what Jefferson had hoped for: wooly mammoths, but they found something better. Lewis and Clark had discovered a path to the Pacific Ocean. From there on, the West could be opened up even more thanks to Meriwether Lewis and William Clark.
-Extra (If I want to film a little more) Scenes-
Lewis:(aiming a gun at something and stands up and screams in pain)
Lewis looks back to find himself bleeding
He turns to Pierre Cruzatte
Lewis:You have shot me!
Cruzatte shakes his head in disagreement although it was ridiculously obvious he did.
Lewis ends up lying stomach down in the boat for weeks.
-Stealing the Dog-
Lewis:*collecting specimen*
Indians come and take Seaman away
Lewis: [yelling at Indians to come back and give him Seaman back]
Indians keep running
Lewis:[Summons an Army and commands them to go after the Indians and retrieve Seaman]