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Biographical Notes
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John Jacob Astor
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In 1813, at the request of his friend, Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin, Astor helped finance the war by purchasing $2 million in government bonds. After the British burned Washington the value of these bonds fell and many were sold at substantial discount. Astor purchased many of them. At the same time that he was helping finance the war he also continued to trade using every trick in the book to get his furs out of Canada and his tea through the British blockade to New York. He made huge profits because of wartime scarcity. In 1814, he loaned $5,000 to Secretary of State James Monroe on easy terms. The war was ended by the treaty of Ghent, which was ratified by Congress on February 16, 1815. Shortly after the end of the war Secretary Monroe informed the British that the United States intended to reoccupy Astoria and that Astor intended to reestablish his business there. In 1816, Astor added opium to the cargos that his ships carried to China.
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On October 6, 1818, Captain James Biddle raised the American flag over Astoria and proclaimed that he took temporary possession of it in the name of the United States. On October 20, 1818, Great Britain and the United States agreed that all of the Northwest would be open to citizens of both countries for a period of ten years. The two countries also agreed that the Northwest Company owned Astoria because they had purchased it before any act of war had been committed. In 1819 Astor traveled to Europe. In 1821 the British Government forced the union of the Hudson's Bay Company and the Northwest Fur Company. Factor John McLoughlin moved Hudson Bay headquarters upriver to Fort Vancouver. Astor did not attempt to reoccupy Astoria but he did continue to engage vigorously in the fur trade throughout the Northwest. Men like Manuel Lisa, Rene Auguste Chouteau, Pierre Chouteau Jr., Bernard Berthold, Joshua Pilcher, Joseph Renville, and others contested the field, but Astor's American Fur Company managed to dominate the industry.
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At about this time the firm of J.J. Astor & Son was formed. John Jacob was very much the controlling partner with his son, William Backhouse Astor, the junior partner. (Astor's oldest son, John Jacob Astor II, was suffering from mental problems, required constant care, and was incapable of engaging in business.) Ramsay Crooks controlled field operations for Astor's fur business from St. Louis and William watched the company books and concentrated on the real estate investments that were becoming more and more valuable with the phenomenal growth of New York City. Still in Europe in 1821 he decided to reduce his involvement in the China trade and began to sell off his ships. In 1822 he instructed Crooks to redouble his efforts to crush all competition in the western fur trade. The American Fur Company emphasized the use of alcohol in its trading with Indians. So did their competition. Government officials reported great abuse and attempted to limit Indian access to alcohol, but were not successful.
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The American Fur Company's principal attorney in St. Louis was Thomas Hart Benton. When Missouri became a state and Benton was elected senator, he continued to assist Astor. Monroe was president. On March 20, 1822, General William H. Ashley took out his famous ad in the Missouri Republic:
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"To enterprising young men. The subscriber wishes to engage one hundred young men to ascend the Missouri River to its source, there to be employed for one, two, or three years. For particulars enquire of Major Andrew Henry, near the lead mines in the county of Washington, who will ascend with, and command, the party; or the subscriber near St. Louis."
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William H. Ashley
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Men like Jeddediah Smith, Etienne Provot, Andrew Sublette,Solomon Sublette, Milton Sublette, William Sublette, Jim Bridger, Thomas Fitzpatrick, and Jim Beckworth were among the men that answered the ad and went upriver with Henry in April 1823. Ashley recruited another hundred men and followed Henry in March 1824. The new outfit was known as the Rocky Mountain Fur Company. Astor decided not to challenge it directly, but rather to let it develop the trade and then buy it out. In July 1827 Astor bought Renville's Columbia Fur Company which was renamed the Upper Missouri Outfit. Also in 1827 Ashley sold out to Jedediah Smith, William Sublette and David E. Jackson. In 1829 Astor made a four year agreement with Bernard Pratte and Company of which Pierre Chouteau was a partner. At that point, Astor's only real competition was from Smith, Sublette and Jackson.
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Smith and his partners sold out to Jim Bridger who gathered two hundred trappers and penetrated the Blackfeet territory successfully. Astor, still the most powerful person in the fur trade saw that the business was going into decline. He was already the richest man in New York and one of the richest in the world. In 1832 Astor traveled to Europe and stayed until the spring of 1834. On his return to New York he learned that his wife, Sarah, had died eight days earlier. Shortly after that he began selling off the various elements of his fur empire. That same year he laid the corner stone for Astor House which was to become the finest hotel in New York City. He built a new home for himself on Broadway and entertained a long list of celebrities from all over the world. It was at this time that he hired Washington Irving to write the story of Astoria. In 1836 Astoria, or, Anecdotes of an Enterprize Beyond the Rocky Mountains was published and became an instant best seller. Although he had gotten out of the China and fur trades he continued to invest in New York real estate and his fortune continued to grow apace. Even the financial panic of 1837 benefited him as people in his debt had to pay him in land.
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In his last years he focused on family and lived a rather quiet life. His son William took care of business. John Jacob died on March 29, 1848, just short of his 85th birthday.
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