The American Fur Company and John Jacob Astor
I. Introduction
"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely (Lord Acton). John Jacob Astor was a man that had absolute power during his era and used his power and wealth to benefit himself and not the “social fabric of society”. Astor lived during the time of a post-revolutionary America which allowed him to build a monopolist empire with little restraint from government or society. Starting out in American as a young German immigrant, John Jacob Astor became involved in the fur trading business “without ever having set a trap” (Stokesbury) and eventually built a fur trading company that extended across the United States and into Canada and made him the richest man in America and the fourth richest American of all time (Wikipedia). Many of his business methods were unethical and illegal and took advantage of those without the means or ability to protect their interests. His wealth influenced government......
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Approximate Word Count: 2155
Approximate Pages: 9 (260 words per double-spaced page) |