Economic History of St. Louis
Davey Oetting
12/1/06
History of St. Louis
St. Louis was acquired from France by the United States under President Thomas Jefferson in 1803, as part of the Louisiana Purchase. It was founded by the French in 1764 when Auguste Chouteau established a fur-trading post and Pierre Laclède Liguest, a New Orleans merchant, founded a town at the present site. They named it after King Louis XV of France and his patron saint, Louis IX. From 1770 to 1803, St. Louis was a Spanish possession, but it was ceded back to France in 1803 in accordance with the Treaty of San Ildefonso (1800), only to be acquired by the U.S. as part of the Louisiana Purchase later that year. The town was incorporated in 1809. From 1812 to 1821, St. Louis was the capital of the Missouri Territory, and it was incorporated as a city in 1822. John Jacob Astor opened the Western branch of the American Fur Company in 1819, and the city prospered during the early part of the 19th century as a commercial center for the fur trade. St. Louis continued to grow as a major transportation hub with the development of steamboat traffic and the later expansion of the railroads in the 1850s. This transportation boom led to the immigrant influx in the mid 1800s. The world-famous Louisiana Purchase Exposition was held here in 1904 which brought high demand for many products, making St. Louis turn into a manufacturing city. It is important to the city's economy, and its highly developed industries include, aircraft and space technology, beer, and food processing. All of these events led to the creation and the progress of the city of St. Louis.
St. Louis was quickly a prominent city in the Midwest sharing its power with Chicago for most productive city. St. Louis leaders were passively conservative and depended upon St. Louis' superior location, whereas Chicago leaders were more astute and aggressively developed the potential of the railroads. Rail provided year-round transport while river travel was impossible
12/1/06
History of St. Louis
St. Louis was acquired from France by the United States under President Thomas Jefferson in 1803, as part of the Louisiana Purchase. It was founded by the French in 1764 when Auguste Chouteau established a fur-trading post and Pierre Laclède Liguest, a New Orleans merchant, founded a town at the present site. They named it after King Louis XV of France and his patron saint, Louis IX. From 1770 to 1803, St. Louis was a Spanish possession, but it was ceded back to France in 1803 in accordance with the Treaty of San Ildefonso (1800), only to be acquired by the U.S. as part of the Louisiana Purchase later that year. The town was incorporated in 1809. From 1812 to 1821, St. Louis was the capital of the Missouri Territory, and it was incorporated as a city in 1822. John Jacob Astor opened the Western branch of the American Fur Company in 1819, and the city prospered during the early part of the 19th century as a commercial center for the fur trade. St. Louis continued to grow as a major transportation hub with the development of steamboat traffic and the later expansion of the railroads in the 1850s. This transportation boom led to the immigrant influx in the mid 1800s. The world-famous Louisiana Purchase Exposition was held here in 1904 which brought high demand for many products, making St. Louis turn into a manufacturing city. It is important to the city's economy, and its highly developed industries include, aircraft and space technology, beer, and food processing. All of these events led to the creation and the progress of the city of St. Louis.
St. Louis was quickly a prominent city in the Midwest sharing its power with Chicago for most productive city. St. Louis leaders were passively conservative and depended upon St. Louis' superior location, whereas Chicago leaders were more astute and aggressively developed the potential of the railroads. Rail provided year-round transport while river travel was impossible
Bibliography: Bezold, Bryan "St. Louis Commerce" Online. Internet. WWW Page. http://www.stlcommercemagazine.com/archives/june2002/economic.html George J. Borjas, "Friends or Strangers: The Impact of Immigrants on the U.S. Economy" (New York: Basic Books, 1990). Lass, William E. "Tourist 's Impressions of St. Louis - 1766 -1859." Missouri Historical Review, Columbia, Mo., July-October, 1958 "Missouri Historical Museum" Online. Internet WWW Page. http://www.mohistory.org/content/HomePage/HomePage.aspx "Mound City on the Mississippi" Online. Internet. WWW Page. http://stlouis.missouri.org/heritage/ Reavis, L. U. "St. Louis, The Future Great City of the World." Gray and Beyer Co., 1875. Scharf, J. T. "History of St. Louis City and County," Louis H. Everts Co. Philadelphia, 1883. "St. Louis History" Online. Internet. WWW Page. http://www.nps.gov/archive/jeff/history.htm