The Pacific Fur Company: The History and Legacy of John Jacob Astor's Influential Trade Company

*Includes pictures*Includes contemporary accounts of the company*Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading*Includes a table of contentsFrom the early 19th century, the image of an American empire extending to both coasts became a rallying cry. The Pacific Ocean represented, in Jefferson’s mind, the most effective western border. His view was in part inaccurate, as he expected the Rocky Mountains to resemble the gentler Appalachians, not a range of American Alps.Governing from the eastern seaboard, the two most effective methods of procuring wilderness lands in the west necessitated a campaign of exploration and the establishment of permanent trade entities located in strategic locations to discourage invasion and enhance internationalism. The first was accomplished by a two-year expedition from St. Louis to the Pacific Ocean under the leadership of Captain Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. From 1804 to 1806, the expedition gathered information on land and river