The Trails of Lewis and Clark by Dr. Harry W. Fritz

Harry W. Fritz, Ph.D.

Professor/Chair - Department of History - The University of Montana

By Kristen Cates - May 2002
Spectral Fusion Designs
The College of Arts and Sciences - The University of Montana

As chair of the Department of History at The University of Montana, and a full-time professor, Dr. Harry Fritz has a lot of projects to work on, and little time to spare, but he is fascinated by the evolving U.S. history.

"There's always something new to learn," he said.

"It's a tremendous demand. As chair, you are supposed to have a slightly reduced teaching load, but I'm responsible for all my classes. The only shortcut I take is taping my History 151 classes for the afternoon."

Although it seems as if his tapings are too easy of a shortcut, Fritz said he does it as a convenience for his students.

"If you don't want to watch the video, you sign up for the morning class," he said. "I just don't have time - I teach more than I should," he said with a soft chuckle.

Despite his hectic schedule, Fritz has always found time to pursue his own studies. As his career has progressed, he's moved from studying the War of 1812 to WWII to the Lewis and Clark expedition.

Some of his recent projects have been working on materials for the celebration of the Lewis and Clark expedition which will start on July 4, 2003.

As interest in the Lewis and Clark bicentennial grows, Fritz said there is a lot of uncommon information.

"People think Lewis and Clark were sent out to explore the Louisiana Purchase, but President Jefferson was going to send them even if the Spanish or French still owned it," he said.

He also noted that it was a military expedition, and that once the explorers crossed over certain boundaries, technically, "the President ordered a military invasion of a foreign country. That's an act of war."

Lewis and Clark traveled through the West, and left detailed journals of their expedition, especially as they traveled through Montana.

"The whole key to the expedition is right here in western Montana," said Fritz. However, he added that there are no decent maps to show this journey.

So, in 2000, the Grizzly Riders provided Fritz and other colleagues with the International Grant, which they have used to develop a poster-sized, detailed map of the expedition. He said that often times, the maps are so small that they must leave out important details of the trip. However, they are finding that the journals of Lewis and Clark are a useful tool.

"What we're doing is reading the journals, and then putting those things on the map," he said.

The maps, Fritz said, are designed for classroom use, but they will probably have some commercial value as well. He hopes to have them finished by the fall. He has also helped with the Web site www.lewis-clark.org which contains some of Fritz's detailed writings on the subject.

However, this is only one of Fritz ongoing projects. He has taught many summer courses, from England and the American Revolution to The Marias River and Montana History.

Fritz has been teaching history for over thirty years, but he first got his degree in chemistry from Dartmouth College in 1960. He said that he figured out he wasn't going to do anything with that degree, so he started reading books, mostly history books.

"I came back to school, and here I am. I've just gradually progressed," Fritz said.

Fritz, who graduated from Missoula County High School (now Hellgate) in 1956, came back to the UM and got his master's degree in history in 1962. While working on his Ph.D. at Washington University, he heard about a job opening at UM. After thinking it over for a couple months, Fritz jumped at the chance to be back in Missoula.

"It's a nice place - the whole thing is just serendipitous," he said. "I ended up here, and I haven't found any other good place to move."

Selected Publications

Joseph Kinsey Howard, K. Ross Toole, and Montana : A Plundered Province. Article for the Center for the Rocky Mountain West. (forthcoming).

Education :

Courses Taught at The University of Montana: