[FUR TRADE] [Benton, Thomas Hart]

In the Senate of the United States, March 8, 1826. Mr. Benton, from the Committee on Indian Affairs, Reported a Bil[l] "For the better regulation of the fur trade"...

[Washington]: 1826.

Senate document 58, 9th Congress, 1st Session. 12 pp. Disbound, laid into a cloth folder. Early ownership signature at head of first page, light foxing; very good. Missouri Senator Thomas Benton was a dedicated advocate for westward expansion who consistently promoted the interests of the fur trade. Here he presents reports and correspondence highlighting problems with the current laws regulating the fur trade, particularly traders' relations with the Indians, and offering opinions on whether the existing legislation should be repealed. Included are a detailed list of objections to present regulations from Upper Missouri traders Robert Stuart and Bernard Pratte; a letter of support for their opinions from Lewis Cass; a letter from Thomas McKenney supporting regulation generally, urging caution on repeal, condemning the ill-effects of whiskey on the Indians and the trade, and offering some details on the location and activities of General Ashley; and an excerpt from a report from Col. Snelling, also urging more attention to the issue of how and where whiskey can be traded in the western country.

Item #22663

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