Missouri History
Missouri’s Role in the Growth of the Nation
With Missouri becoming a state in 1821, it would play a major part in much of the westward expansion of the United States. From trappers and traders, to explorers and settlers, people traveled through Missouri to get to the west and many Missourians joined in that pursuit.
Traders and Trappers
In the history of the American frontier, the fur traders and trappers have been among the earliest Europeans to seek out and exploit the new area. French fur traders existed in Missouri many years before any American settlers arrived. They searched the great rivers and their tributaries for furs and traded with the Native Americans there. As we have already learned, many of the earliest settlements in Missouri had been built during the dominion of the French in the area. St. Louis began as a small trading post. Many years later, in 1826, St. Joseph on the opposite side of the state would go from being a trading post to become a town of significant influence. The fur-trading industry remained a major economic activity in Missouri for a century or more. The beaver was the fur most in demand as fashionable top hats made from the pelts were worn in Europe and America. Trappers felt that they had a “cash cow” with the beaver trade until a change in fashion during the 1840s brought a devastating crash to the industry. The trappers had endured hardships, faced danger from hostile Native Americans and angry animals, and lived lonely lives in their endless quest for the beaver skin. Fur trappers and traders were not builders of white civilization, but their knowledge of the journey westward would pave the way for those wishing to build their lives beyond the existing United States boundaries.
The Chouteau family not only was instrumental in the creation of St. Louis, they were also a well-established fur trading company. Pierre Chouteau was a half-brother to Auguste, and boasted that he was educated in the school of the Osage Indians. Pierre and his brother monopolized the trade with the Osage from 1794 to 1802, even coaxing the Osage to relocate in area where he had trading privileges after the trade was turned over to another furrier. Pierre was made an Indian agent to the Osage by President Thomas Jefferson. He helped organize the Missouri Fur Company in 1809 and expanded his business to the upper Missouri River and the Rocky Mountains. When the company went bankrupt in during the War of 1812, Chouteau scaled back his efforts and partially retired near St. Louis.
The furrier that had received the authority to trade with the Osage was a man by the name of Manuel Lisa. Lisa came to Missouri at the age of eighteen in 1790. The reports of Lewis and Clark impressed him and he set out for the upper Missouri River in 1807. Lisa built Fort Manuel at the mouth of the Big Horn River in current day Montana. Manuel Lisa spent the winter of 1807 there and stocked up furs and traded with the Indians. He would form the Missouri Fur Company when he got back to St. Louis. Chouteau invested in the company, as did William Clark, and Major Andrew Henry. The company would have much difficulty, due to competitors, Indian conflict, and the War of 1812. Lisa would later relocate near Omaha and die in 1820.
Andrew Henry would hold on to his interest in the fur trading industry and join Lieutenant Governor William Henry Ashley to organize a new company to profit from the fur trading market. Henry and Ashley advertised in a St. Louis newspaper in 1822 for one hundred enterprising young men to join them. Indian conflict led the company to trap farther south in the central Rockies. Ashley wanted to see for himself if trade could occur that far south and journeyed there to check it out. The trip led him to come up with the idea of the “rendezvous system.” This concept consisted of trappers spending much time alone collecting the pelts and then going down to a designated location where all of the trappers brought their skins to trade to the business represented there. This was also a chance for the trappers to get news and supplies, as well as blow off some steam. Drinking and other “recreational” offerings were present at the rendezvous. Other than interaction with Native Americans, the trappers lived lonely experiences and this was a chance for them to hang out with their peers.
Many of the trappers enjoyed the peacefulness of the solitude trapping and keeping apart from civilization. They became known as “mountain men,” and gained quite a reputation for their lives in the wild. Men like Kit Carson, Jim Bridger, James P. Beckwourth, and Jedediah Smith all lived at some point in Missouri Many were known for their tall tales about life among the Indians. Jim Bridger was considered crazy by Indians and whites a like. That “craziness” would help Bridger survive Indian attacks or the threat of Indian attack. James Beckwourth was an interracial person, with African American blood being prevalent in how he looked. Several other with African-American blood would relocate to the Rockys following the Missouri River and escape the threats that allowed law enforcement and civilians to capture African Americans thought to be runaway slaves. Beckwourth was not a slave, but there were probably a portion of those present in the mountains were indeed runaway slaves. The mountains and the fur trading business provided a harsh but often unchecked freedom for some who had been born in captivity. The Native Americans respected the blacks because they knew how many whites had treated and enslaved them. Both groups had suffered the forced influence of whites on their lives and the force of pushing out or retaining the victims to do whatever menial tasks the whites wanted done. Neither group felt as equals or even as human beings as viewed by the whites. This all influenced the camaraderie felt towards the blacks by the Indians.
Missouri’s Role in the Growth of the Nation
With Missouri becoming a state in 1821, it would play a major part in much of the westward expansion of the United States. From trappers and traders, to explorers and settlers, people traveled through Missouri to get to the west and many Missourians joined in that pursuit.
Traders and Trappers
In the history of the American frontier, the fur traders and trappers have been among the earliest Europeans to seek out and exploit the new area. French fur traders existed in Missouri many years before any American settlers arrived. They searched the great rivers and their tributaries for furs and traded with the Native Americans there. As we have already learned, many of the earliest settlements in Missouri had been built during the dominion of the French in the area. St. Louis began as a small trading post. Many years later, in 1826, St. Joseph on the opposite side of the state would go from being a trading post to become a town of significant influence. The fur-trading industry remained a major economic activity in Missouri for a century or more. The beaver was the fur most in demand as fashionable top hats made from the pelts were worn in Europe and America. Trappers felt that they had a “cash cow” with the beaver trade until a change in fashion during the 1840s brought a devastating crash to the industry. The trappers had endured hardships, faced danger from hostile Native Americans and angry animals, and lived lonely lives in their endless quest for the beaver skin. Fur trappers and traders were not builders of white civilization, but their knowledge of the journey westward would pave the way for those wishing to build their lives beyond the existing United States boundaries.
The Chouteau family not only was instrumental in the creation of St. Louis, they were also a well-established fur trading company. Pierre Chouteau was a half-brother to Auguste, and boasted that he was educated in the school of the Osage Indians. Pierre and his brother monopolized the trade with the Osage from 1794 to 1802, even coaxing the Osage to relocate in area where he had trading privileges after the trade was turned over to another furrier. Pierre was made an Indian agent to the Osage by President Thomas Jefferson. He helped organize the Missouri Fur Company in 1809 and expanded his business to the upper Missouri River and the Rocky Mountains. When the company went bankrupt in during the War of 1812, Chouteau scaled back his efforts and partially retired near St. Louis.
The furrier that had received the authority to trade with the Osage was a man by the name of Manuel Lisa. Lisa came to Missouri at the age of eighteen in 1790. The reports of Lewis and Clark impressed him and he set out for the upper Missouri River in 1807. Lisa built Fort Manuel at the mouth of the Big Horn River in current day Montana. Manuel Lisa spent the winter of 1807 there and stocked up furs and traded with the Indians. He would form the Missouri Fur Company when he got back to St. Louis. Chouteau invested in the company, as did William Clark, and Major Andrew Henry. The company would have much difficulty, due to competitors, Indian conflict, and the War of 1812. Lisa would later relocate near Omaha and die in 1820.
Andrew Henry would hold on to his interest in the fur trading industry and join Lieutenant Governor William Henry Ashley to organize a new company to profit from the fur trading market. Henry and Ashley advertised in a St. Louis newspaper in 1822 for one hundred enterprising young men to join them. Indian conflict led the company to trap farther south in the central Rockies. Ashley wanted to see for himself if trade could occur that far south and journeyed there to check it out. The trip led him to come up with the idea of the “rendezvous system.” This concept consisted of trappers spending much time alone collecting the pelts and then going down to a designated location where all of the trappers brought their skins to trade to the business represented there. This was also a chance for the trappers to get news and supplies, as well as blow off some steam. Drinking and other “recreational” offerings were present at the rendezvous. Other than interaction with Native Americans, the trappers lived lonely experiences and this was a chance for them to hang out with their peers.
Many of the trappers enjoyed the peacefulness of the solitude trapping and keeping apart from civilization. They became known as “mountain men,” and gained quite a reputation for their lives in the wild. Men like Kit Carson, Jim Bridger, James P. Beckwourth, and Jedediah Smith all lived at some point in Missouri Many were known for their tall tales about life among the Indians. Jim Bridger was considered crazy by Indians and whites a like. That “craziness” would help Bridger survive Indian attacks or the threat of Indian attack. James Beckwourth was an interracial person, with African American blood being prevalent in how he looked. Several other with African-American blood would relocate to the Rockys following the Missouri River and escape the threats that allowed law enforcement and civilians to capture African Americans thought to be runaway slaves. Beckwourth was not a slave, but there were probably a portion of those present in the mountains were indeed runaway slaves. The mountains and the fur trading business provided a harsh but often unchecked freedom for some who had been born in captivity. The Native Americans respected the blacks because they knew how many whites had treated and enslaved them. Both groups had suffered the forced influence of whites on their lives and the force of pushing out or retaining the victims to do whatever menial tasks the whites wanted done. Neither group felt as equals or even as human beings as viewed by the whites. This all influenced the camaraderie felt towards the blacks by the Indians.
All Trails Must Have An Origin
As people began making their way westward, they hoped to have a safe and secure route to travel. It wasn’t like getting into the family car and heading down a highway with towns, truckstops, and convenience stores along the way. There were few established routeways marked out for travel. If you were to wander off track you might become severely lost and end up like the Donner party. People needed routes that could be counted on.
The Santa Fe Trail
One of the first westward trails that Americans would utilize was the “Santa Fe Trail.” Santa Fe first came into being in 1609 and was in the Spanish province of northern New Mexico. Santa Fe is one of the oldest towns in North America. The town was on a fifteen hundred-mile trail from the seaport of Vera Cruz. Although Santa Fe beckoned American trade, the Spanish government outlawed trade with the United States. When Mexico gained its independence from Spain in 1821, the trade policy was reversed and Americans were quick to start traveling and trading with the town. One of the first traders to take advantage of this change was a Missourian. His name was William Becknell.
Becknell began his quest for trade with Santa Fe almost as soon as Mexico gained its freedom in 1821. He set out with a group of men, animals, and supplies for Santa Fe. While bartering for furs in the southern Rockies, Becknell met up with some Mexican soldiers who claimed the Americans’ trade was welcome in this country. Becknell went right away to Santa Fe and began trading with the people there. Santa Fe was an exciting destination for the group and Becknell was quick to set up another trip as soon as he got back to Missouri. The journey was 800 miles across Kansas to the Arkansas River and south following the Cimarron River. This route would be followed by other traders in the next couple of years, making commerce on the trail well established by 1824. The next twenty years would be a lucrative endeavor in trade until the squabble over Texas would put a temporary shut down on trade by the Mexican authorities.
People began using Independence Missouri as their starting point on the Santa Fe Trail in 1830. This cut down about a hundred miles off of the hard and dangerous journey. Members of a wagon train came from all walks of life and each had to participate in taking the evening watch to guard the group form bandits and hostile Native Americans. Some of these wagon trains had more than one hundred wagons. The military would escort the wagon trains in the decade between 1820 and 1830.
The Santa Fe Trail garnered the desire and capability of Americans to travel long distances across land. Techniques and practices used by those traveling this route would be used on the Oregon or California journeys later. Silver from Mexico prospered the Missouri economy and strengthened the “hard money economy” viewpoint of Missouri’s “Old Bullion,” Thomas Hart Benton. The Mexican burro came to Missouri would produce the Missouri mule after being mated with Belgian draft horses. The tales of the Santa Fe trader, soldier, adventurer, and fur trader helped to encourage American, and Missouri, expansion in the 1840s.
As people began making their way westward, they hoped to have a safe and secure route to travel. It wasn’t like getting into the family car and heading down a highway with towns, truckstops, and convenience stores along the way. There were few established routeways marked out for travel. If you were to wander off track you might become severely lost and end up like the Donner party. People needed routes that could be counted on.
The Santa Fe Trail
One of the first westward trails that Americans would utilize was the “Santa Fe Trail.” Santa Fe first came into being in 1609 and was in the Spanish province of northern New Mexico. Santa Fe is one of the oldest towns in North America. The town was on a fifteen hundred-mile trail from the seaport of Vera Cruz. Although Santa Fe beckoned American trade, the Spanish government outlawed trade with the United States. When Mexico gained its independence from Spain in 1821, the trade policy was reversed and Americans were quick to start traveling and trading with the town. One of the first traders to take advantage of this change was a Missourian. His name was William Becknell.
Becknell began his quest for trade with Santa Fe almost as soon as Mexico gained its freedom in 1821. He set out with a group of men, animals, and supplies for Santa Fe. While bartering for furs in the southern Rockies, Becknell met up with some Mexican soldiers who claimed the Americans’ trade was welcome in this country. Becknell went right away to Santa Fe and began trading with the people there. Santa Fe was an exciting destination for the group and Becknell was quick to set up another trip as soon as he got back to Missouri. The journey was 800 miles across Kansas to the Arkansas River and south following the Cimarron River. This route would be followed by other traders in the next couple of years, making commerce on the trail well established by 1824. The next twenty years would be a lucrative endeavor in trade until the squabble over Texas would put a temporary shut down on trade by the Mexican authorities.
People began using Independence Missouri as their starting point on the Santa Fe Trail in 1830. This cut down about a hundred miles off of the hard and dangerous journey. Members of a wagon train came from all walks of life and each had to participate in taking the evening watch to guard the group form bandits and hostile Native Americans. Some of these wagon trains had more than one hundred wagons. The military would escort the wagon trains in the decade between 1820 and 1830.
The Santa Fe Trail garnered the desire and capability of Americans to travel long distances across land. Techniques and practices used by those traveling this route would be used on the Oregon or California journeys later. Silver from Mexico prospered the Missouri economy and strengthened the “hard money economy” viewpoint of Missouri’s “Old Bullion,” Thomas Hart Benton. The Mexican burro came to Missouri would produce the Missouri mule after being mated with Belgian draft horses. The tales of the Santa Fe trader, soldier, adventurer, and fur trader helped to encourage American, and Missouri, expansion in the 1840s.
Independence
If it had not been for the Santa Fe Trail, Independence might not have grown into the community that it is today. Independence would become a starting point for those traveling to the American West. Steamboats brought their trade goods from St. Louis and dropped them at the Wayne City and Blue Mills landings. Trading companies made the town the base of their operations. People of notoriety would come to Independence, like Washington Irving and Francis Parkman. Independence was not only the beginning of the Santa Fe Trail but also the rendezvous for the emigrants heading west to Oregon in the 1840s.
Americans subscribed to the idea of “Manifest Destiny” and that it was spiritually ordained for the United States to be the possessor of all lands from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific. This concept also reached southward to the Rio Grande River. Regardless of the difficult political, social, ethical, and diplomatic questions that such an attitude raised, James K. Polk and the Democratic party campaigned in 1844 on the platform of American expansion. Polk defeated Henry Clay, a Whig party candidate, who failed to match his opponents’ promises of Manifest Destiny.
If it had not been for the Santa Fe Trail, Independence might not have grown into the community that it is today. Independence would become a starting point for those traveling to the American West. Steamboats brought their trade goods from St. Louis and dropped them at the Wayne City and Blue Mills landings. Trading companies made the town the base of their operations. People of notoriety would come to Independence, like Washington Irving and Francis Parkman. Independence was not only the beginning of the Santa Fe Trail but also the rendezvous for the emigrants heading west to Oregon in the 1840s.
Americans subscribed to the idea of “Manifest Destiny” and that it was spiritually ordained for the United States to be the possessor of all lands from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific. This concept also reached southward to the Rio Grande River. Regardless of the difficult political, social, ethical, and diplomatic questions that such an attitude raised, James K. Polk and the Democratic party campaigned in 1844 on the platform of American expansion. Polk defeated Henry Clay, a Whig party candidate, who failed to match his opponents’ promises of Manifest Destiny.
Left: Moses Austin. Right: Stephen Austin
Texas
As already mentioned, Moses Austin wished to establish a settlement in lands that are now Texas. He believed he could use his Spanish citizenship to secure a land grant in Texas to establish this American colony. The Mexican government did grant Austin’s request, but he died before obtaining it. His son, Stephen F. Austin, continued the idea and fulfilled his father’s dream.
Many Missourians were in that first colony. More went later and fought in the Texas Revolution of 1836. One might think that the Mexican government wished they never heard of Moses Austin. By the 1840s, these Missourians numbered among those who urged the annexation of Texas by the United States.
As already mentioned, Moses Austin wished to establish a settlement in lands that are now Texas. He believed he could use his Spanish citizenship to secure a land grant in Texas to establish this American colony. The Mexican government did grant Austin’s request, but he died before obtaining it. His son, Stephen F. Austin, continued the idea and fulfilled his father’s dream.
Many Missourians were in that first colony. More went later and fought in the Texas Revolution of 1836. One might think that the Mexican government wished they never heard of Moses Austin. By the 1840s, these Missourians numbered among those who urged the annexation of Texas by the United States.
Oregon Fever
The Oregon country was claimed by Great Britain, the United States, Spain, and Russia. Just who really were the possessors of the land? In 1818 the British and Americans signed a treaty agreeing to joint occupation of the land. During the following decade, Spain and Russia backed out of their claims. Dr. John Floyd urged his colleagues in Congress in 1821 to pass a bill for the complete acquisition of the Oregon country by the United States. Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri supported the idea. The bill didn’t pass in Congress but Americans began to look to the occupation of Oregon anyway.
The 1820s and 1830s were a time of propagandists, or published promoters, for American expansion to keep interest alive in Oregon. There were a number of expeditions to the area and this planted the seeds of American settlements. Catholic and Protestants missionaries went to the region to take the Christian gospel to the Native Americans and good news about Oregon to missionary boards and supporting congregations back home. Father Pierre de Smet went to Oregon from Missouri as one of these missionaries.
Missouri’s senator Lewis F. Linn was an avid proponent of American occupation of Oregon. He was an integral player with Benton to support measures to build up Missouri and the western United States. Known as “Missouri’s model senator,” Linn proposed a bill for the occupation of Oregon. Linn’s bill did pass the Senate but not the House. The issue of Oregon was still raging when Linn died in 1843, but it was only a matter of time. His successor, David Rice Atchison, jumped on the Oregon bandwagon and pushed this bill to conclusion.
People interested in Oregon settlement were said to have “Oregon Fever,” a concept that added to the United States idea of Manifest Destiny. The panic of 1837 caused severe economic conditions in the Mississippi Valley and there were reported high prices for agricultural products in Oregon. These factors led many Missourians to Oregon.
The Oregon country was claimed by Great Britain, the United States, Spain, and Russia. Just who really were the possessors of the land? In 1818 the British and Americans signed a treaty agreeing to joint occupation of the land. During the following decade, Spain and Russia backed out of their claims. Dr. John Floyd urged his colleagues in Congress in 1821 to pass a bill for the complete acquisition of the Oregon country by the United States. Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri supported the idea. The bill didn’t pass in Congress but Americans began to look to the occupation of Oregon anyway.
The 1820s and 1830s were a time of propagandists, or published promoters, for American expansion to keep interest alive in Oregon. There were a number of expeditions to the area and this planted the seeds of American settlements. Catholic and Protestants missionaries went to the region to take the Christian gospel to the Native Americans and good news about Oregon to missionary boards and supporting congregations back home. Father Pierre de Smet went to Oregon from Missouri as one of these missionaries.
Missouri’s senator Lewis F. Linn was an avid proponent of American occupation of Oregon. He was an integral player with Benton to support measures to build up Missouri and the western United States. Known as “Missouri’s model senator,” Linn proposed a bill for the occupation of Oregon. Linn’s bill did pass the Senate but not the House. The issue of Oregon was still raging when Linn died in 1843, but it was only a matter of time. His successor, David Rice Atchison, jumped on the Oregon bandwagon and pushed this bill to conclusion.
People interested in Oregon settlement were said to have “Oregon Fever,” a concept that added to the United States idea of Manifest Destiny. The panic of 1837 caused severe economic conditions in the Mississippi Valley and there were reported high prices for agricultural products in Oregon. These factors led many Missourians to Oregon.
Oregon Trail
Small parties pioneered the Oregon Trail in 1840 and 1841 and 1843 served as the boon year for migration to that western land. The Oregon Trail began in Independence, moved up the Missouri River to the Platte, the North Platte, Sweetwater to South Pass, then by the valley of the Bear to Snake River, and along the route of the Snake and Columbia to the Pacific. It was an excellent trail considering travel of the day. Food, water, and forage were nearby and it was relatively safe from Indian attack. The South Pass was a good way to get through the Rocky Mountains.
The overland pioneers equipped themselves and commenced their long journey from Independence, St. Joseph, and other Missouri River towns in the early spring to avoid traveling in winter. Lessons learned from Santa Fe traders and the personal experiences of others who had gone before them gave these pioneers the tools to establish effective teams to go west. They traveled light, used oxen instead of draft horses, and wore thick shoes. They created a “roadside telegraph,” nailing messages to trees and posts for those that followed concerning grass and water availability and potential dangers. There were some Indians attacks and some white renegades disguised as Indians to attack the wagons. It was a long and hard journey but became easier as the government, mountain men, and friendly Indians gave aid and direction.
On June 15, 1846, the United States signed the Oregon Treaty with Great Britain ending nearly a half century of controversy over the Oregon country. This treaty made a boundary of the forty-ninth parallel between the two nations. With the acquisition of Oregon, President Polk and the Democratic party accomplished the goal of Manifest Destiny.
Small parties pioneered the Oregon Trail in 1840 and 1841 and 1843 served as the boon year for migration to that western land. The Oregon Trail began in Independence, moved up the Missouri River to the Platte, the North Platte, Sweetwater to South Pass, then by the valley of the Bear to Snake River, and along the route of the Snake and Columbia to the Pacific. It was an excellent trail considering travel of the day. Food, water, and forage were nearby and it was relatively safe from Indian attack. The South Pass was a good way to get through the Rocky Mountains.
The overland pioneers equipped themselves and commenced their long journey from Independence, St. Joseph, and other Missouri River towns in the early spring to avoid traveling in winter. Lessons learned from Santa Fe traders and the personal experiences of others who had gone before them gave these pioneers the tools to establish effective teams to go west. They traveled light, used oxen instead of draft horses, and wore thick shoes. They created a “roadside telegraph,” nailing messages to trees and posts for those that followed concerning grass and water availability and potential dangers. There were some Indians attacks and some white renegades disguised as Indians to attack the wagons. It was a long and hard journey but became easier as the government, mountain men, and friendly Indians gave aid and direction.
On June 15, 1846, the United States signed the Oregon Treaty with Great Britain ending nearly a half century of controversy over the Oregon country. This treaty made a boundary of the forty-ninth parallel between the two nations. With the acquisition of Oregon, President Polk and the Democratic party accomplished the goal of Manifest Destiny.