How Did John Jacob Astor Contribute To The American Dream

John Jacob Astor

Amassing a fortune through ingenuity and the leveraging of taboo businesses

By Juan Acevedo

The realization of the “American Dream” is often believed to be the result of core values such as honesty and hard work, but that was not the case with the first self-made United States mulit-millionaire. Although John Jacob Astor was familiar with the principles of hard work and honest earnings, he rejected a traditional path and built his wealth by capitalizing on a series of new opportunities. He anticipated societal needs, growing markets, and achieved the American dream through sanctioned and questionable business dealings. Widely recognized as the most successful man of his era, John Jacob Astor amassed his

He continued to correspond with his brother George who still resided in London, and Astor became the New York agent for George’s musical instrument business. As before, Astor demonstrated an interest in building a business and sought new opportunities. Since he was very interested in fur trading, Henry helped John contact Eobert Brown, an expert furrier. Astor then worked diligently to learn this trade, asking questions of fur-dealers and Indians, always acting upon “the maxim that Knowledge is Power!”. In the 1780s, he began trading furs with Native Americans and sold them at a profit in London.. Due to his unceasing work efforts and quest for fur trading knowledge, he became quite the businessperson, realizing that fur trading and its expansion had significant possibilities. Consequently, in 1794, when the Jay’s Treaty between United States and England was signed, opening the westward front, Astor officially began his fur trade

Fur trading in North America had occurred for hundreds of years, even before Europeans arrived to the New World. Native Americans and Aboriginal people in Canada from the different regions also traded amongst themselves, and many Native American tribes traded fur as their main source of income. Once Europeans arrived in the New World, they started to take part in trading fur, and the trading extended to Europe. French explorer Jacques Cartier had three voyages to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, where he traded fur with the First Nations people. His fur trading was used as trimming and adornments. Cartier overlooked the use of fur to make beaver pelt, which became fashionable in Europe. The French began trading fur in the 16th century, followed by the English who established a post on the Hudson Bay for trading in the 17th century. Fur trading was one of North America’s main economic markets and competition among various countries occurred. As fur trading increased and became more lucrative, John Astor was there to capitalize upon this venture, taking choice furs to Europe, a realm where the market for fur was gaining in