The contributions of the slave york to the expedition of lewis and clark

He, his father, his mother Rose and younger sister and brother Nancy and Jubawere enslaved by the Clark family. He called York his "playmate".

He was a slave. We know he was big. We know he was very athletic. He was a great dancer. He was devoted to William Clark. He was a great help to the expedition because he was such a curiosity. York had a great time on the expedition.

He had, had his own rifle. He got to vote. He was a full member of the expedition. He had a, the Indians loved him, and the Indian women especially loved York and he took full advantage of that so that on many occasions York would be missing that night and he would be in the lodge with one of the Indians.

Sometimes with the Indian husband standing guard while the business was completed. Listen to the RealAudio What kinds of contributions did York make to the expedition? York made invaluable contributions to the expedition on many occasions.

Going out and hunting and bringing in the game. He made his contribution. And he was a part of the team. And I would emphasize this, that, that, from the, the infant boy who danced around the fire and gladdened the hearts of the men and was enormously popular with all the men, through Sacagawea, through York, through the lowliest privates, through the sergeants, up to the captains themselves, this was a family that had come together and formed a team for the exploration of the continent of North America.

And forged themselves into a team. Gerard Baker Listen to the RealAudio One of the stories obviously, comes from the journals, that they took, different tribes would take dirt, and I remember my father telling me about this story, taking dirt and try to go up to him and rub that black off.

And he was different. You be, you could be, you could be handicapped some way, mentally or physically, or you could have a, just like York came as, as a first black man they ever seen, and that was different. In fact, he was just the opposite. How did York feel at the end of the expedition?

He has crossed the river Jordan. And now, back to St. Back to a world that represents, at least for a moment in his life, slavery and bondage and doing the will and the bidding of others. William Clark was a slave holder. York was not his servant, he was his slave.

And we should understand that. But think about being an African-American free man in a world surrounded by race and slavery. And by racial attitudes that say freedom may only be what is written on a piece of paper.

At heart, you are always the other. You are always on the edges of respectability. On the edges of freedom. I want to say it again, York crossed the river, he crossed the mountains, he saw what freedom meant.

What was the Indians’ response to York?

And then re-entered a world of slavery where slavery was everywhere.American Slave, American Hero: York of the Lewis and Clark Expedition [Laurence Pringle, Cornelius Van Wright, Ying-Hwa Hu] on initiativeblog.com *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers.

The little-known life of York, the African American slave owned by William Clark, and his contributions to the success of the Lewis and Clark expedition /5(6). Fascinating book about Clark's slave, York and the Lewis and Clark expedition. It is also a cliff notes version of their exploring the American West, Sacajawea, etc.

Sad tale in the end, this book would also make a terrific initiativeblog.coms: 9. York’s Story. York, a black slave of William Clark, is one of the most remarkable yet mysterious characters of the Lewis and Clark expedition.

During the expedition York obtained levels of freedom and notoriety experienced by few slaves. Yet, in the end, his experiences were fleeting, no lasting greatness gained. He was a slave.

We know he was big. We know he was very athletic. He was a great dancer.

He was devoted to William Clark. He was a great help to the expedition because he was such a curiosity. York, Captain William Clark’s black “manservant,” accompanied the Lewis and Clark expedition to the Pacific Ocean and back to the East (). 3 comments on “ York, of the Lewis and Clark Expedition ” f volmaye @ February 9, at pm The letters between William Clark and his older brother Jonathan provide the most detail about York’s life after the Lewis and Clark expedition.