Evan Bayh: “Next year America will celebrate the bicentennial of the cross-country expedition of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark.…”

“Next year America will celebrate the bicentennial of the cross-country expedition of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. With what became known as the Corps of Discovery, Lewis and Clark embarked on an epic journey to chart an overland route to the Pacific Ocean, developing a record of its native people and resources. They catalogued varieties of never before seen plant and animal life. In fact, their expedition is seen as a critical precursor to America's great movement to the West. Less known, but of no less significance to the expedition, are the historic events that occurred at the outset of the journey. I rise today, with my colleague from Indiana, Senator Lugar, to introduce legislation that recognizes the importance of these events by adding the Falls of the Ohio, in Clarksville, IN and Louisville, KY, to the sites honored and preserved by inclusion on the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail. Many historians have detailed the fact that it was the Falls of the Ohio, in Clarksville, IN, that Meriwether Lewis and William Clark met and formed their famous partnership.”