HIST 40733
Fall 2009
Reading guide: David J. Wishart, The Fur Trade of the American West, 1807-1840.
Preface
- What is the objective of this study?
- The Preface succinctly identifies the book’s key concepts. What are they?
The Geographical Setting
- Wishart writes of “the frontier process.” Does this book employ a Turnerian approach to the history of the American West?
- Wishart refers to Lewis and Clark repeatedly throughout the book. How do they fit into his work and what does Wishart’s treatment of them add to your understanding of their significance to the American West?
- Why were beavers important and, with respect to “beaver ecology,” why are their sedentariness and low rate of natural increase important?
- How does “bison ecology” differ from “beaver ecology”? How are the two related for the purpose of this study?
The Upper Missouri Fur Trade: Strategy
- What role(s) did Indians play in this system?
- Who was Manuel Lisa?
- Who was William Ashley?
- Who are the Arikaras?
- What was the American Fur Company?
- Explain its hierarchy of trading posts.
- How did Indian trade networks, especially that of the Crows, relate to the fur trade?
- Explain the relationship between the fur trade, American Indians, and smallpox.
The Upper Missouri Fur Trade: Annual Cycle
- Study Figure 8, “Spatial Organization of the Upper Missouri Fur Trade,” and comment on the global significance of the fur trade.
- What was the Yellowstone and why does Wishart consider it important?
- How did production of bison robes influence American Indian economies and cultures?
- Describe the market for bison robes. Consult the map on p. 108.
The Rocky Mountain Trapping System: Strategy
- What was “…the strongest magnet that drew Euro-Americans into the Trans-Missouri West after 1807….”? What role did Lewis and Clark play in that attraction?
- Who was John Jacob Astor?
- How did the Rocky Mountain fur trade reflect international economics and politics?
- How did the War of 1812 affect the economic development of the West?
- Who was Jedediah Smith and why might he be considered an important figure in the West’s history? Consult the map on p. 123.
- What were the fundamentals of the Rocky Mountain Trapping System and when did they develop?
- Explain the three categories of trappers.
- What did William Ashley do after withdrawing from direct participation in the fur trade?
- What led the system to disintegrate?
The Rocky Mountain Trapping System: Annual Cycle of Operations
- What was the rendezvous and what does it indicate about the Rocky Mountain Trapping System (RMTS)?
- How did the RMTS compare to the Upper Missouri Fur Trade?
The Fur Trade of the West: Assessment
- This is probably the most important chapter in the book. Be sure to read it and understand Wishart’s conclusions.
- Here again Wishart uses “frontier.” Does he use it as a Turnerian? How does he see the fur trade influencing the history of the trans-Missouri region?
- How did the fur trade change the environment? Wishart writes that this pattern was repeated in the West’s history. Please keep your eyes open for this.
- What economic significance did the fur trade have?
- What contributions did the trappers make?
- How did the fur trade relate to the:
- missionary frontier?
- military frontier?
- history of American Indians?