Before Lewis and Clark: The Story of the Chouteaus, the French Dynasty That Ruled America's Frontier

by Shirley Christian

Before Lewis and Clark relates the extraordinary saga of the Chouteaus, the dynastic family that guarded the gates to the West for three generations. From their St. Louis base, the Chouteaus, patrician and French in their origins, made their fortunes along the two-thousand-mile length of the Missouri River. Led by the brothers Auguste and Pierre, the family not only engaged in land speculation, finance, and the fur trade but also acted as suppliers and advisers to expeditions and enterprises between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains—including the famous expedition of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark from 1804 to 1806.


This is the story of the Old World meeting the New, of the eastern United States discovering the West, and of a wealthy, powerful, charming, and manipulative family that dominated business and politics in the Louisiana Purchase territory before and after the Lewis and Clark expedition.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, American History, Westerns, Biography

536 pages, Paperback

First published April 21, 2004

Reviews

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before Lewis and Clark is an excellent history of St. Louis and early American life on the Missouri River. The title is a little confounding, since 80% of the book takes place after Lewis and Clark—much of it literally after Lewis—and technically the story is barely about the Chouteaus.

But Shirley Christian has done thorough research and a masterful assembly of source material to bring together a multi-generational family drama that rivals A Hundred Years of Solitude for magic and realism.

Journeymen, tradesmen, hired hands, slaves, natives of multiple tribes, and immigrants from various places trickled, flowed, and then crushed together in the new West before and after the Louisiana Purchase. The whole tale is presented here. What begins as a heroic French tale in the end reveals a forgotten history of the French, the Spanish, the Osage, the Kansa, and the founders of two Missouri cities. “Oh fortune! Where are thy boasted trophies for those who deserve well of these…?”

In the epilogue, Christian unnecessarily defends the actions of a bygone era and cast-away lifestyle, but nicely packages a review of the Chouteau legacy today. A worthy read, especially for anyone from St. Louis or Missouri.

[Greg Strandberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was very surprised that I liked this book so much. Christian does a fine job weaving together many parallel lives to come up with a masterful biography of the Chouteau family from the 1760s to the 1860s.

You get a lot more than that, however. The before and after of the L&C Expedition are discussed in detail. The founding of St. Louis is highlighted and you get great population, financial, and other numbers. I used this book a lot when working on a timeline of the Upper Missouri trade and the book proved vital in regard to the numbers.

I really liked the discussion on the steamers Yellowstone and Yellow Stone, as well as Assiniboine and St. Peter's. The latter carried smallpox upriver in the 1830s and the account in this book is good, though a bit short.

Overall, a great addition this area of history. Check it out!

[Maryclaire · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hard to keep reading all the books and government documents about acquiring the west. The NATIVE AMERICANS had it all taken from them. The would be conquers of the land west of the Mississippi and North of New Orleans all used and abused the Native Americans in one way or another. At one point the Native Americans helped all involved obtaining the furs they wanted and other means of trade and transportation, until they were told to move their communities on to a small area with out the resources they currently had. It saddens me that all the same life changing events have kept happening over the years since the first landing of the French, Spanish and British. The North American Continent had many different groups of people living on it, and on every corner of it and managed. The expanding of the westward movement did not have to desecrate the Native Americans.

[Tom · Rating 2 out of 5]

When you pick the majority of your reading material from thrift shops and garage sales you expect and look forward to surprises. And there have been many worthwhile finds. Before Lewis and Clark is not one. Reading the jacket and thumbing through the pages it looked like it could be well worth the two bucks. Plenty of endnotes and dates suggested there was some research involved in assembling the story. There was relatively little about Lewis or Clark or the Osage people or the other Native Americans or the geography of the west. Even the material regarding the French traders is handled in a superficial manner. Unless you are looking for some genealogical information about the French who settled the region around present day St. Louis don't bother with this book.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good read if you're interested in early St. Louis and Missouri development. Topics covered include: Indian and French relations; the fur trade; and US government relations and interactions in the western frontier. The title is slightly misleading since a significant portion of the book includes the interactions between the Chouteaus and Lewis and Clark, but the main focus is geared toward the Chouteau family.

[Lisa]

This book has some helpful genealogical information about my husband's 3rd great-grandfather, Jean Pierre Chouteau. A wonderful edition to add to our genealogy library!

[David Shelton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before Lewis and Clark is a very informative book that contains a wealth of information about the Chouteau family who founded and helped build the City of St. Louis. The book describes how the city was founded by Frenchman Pierre Laclede de Liguest in 1764. The founder and his children spoke very little English and developed strong relationships with Native Americans, particularly the Osage. These relationships allowed them to dominate the fur trade for decades and build up a fortune for their family and developed the City of St. Louis at the same time. The title of the book seems to be poorly chosen because the vast majority of the book describes time after the Lewis and Clark Expedition, but otherwise the book is very well written. Anyone who is interested in St. Louis or US and Native American history will get a lot out of this book.

I particularly appreciated some of the insights into the characteristics of St. Louis that were detailed in the book. The author argues persuasively that the city was not started out of religious idealism or by a group of people fleeing injustice, but primarily by people who wanted to make money for themselves and their families through the fur trade (pg 54). The first St. Louisans were extremely pragmatic when it came to issues of commerce and politics, and therefore had no problem with slavery. Also, the people loved to have fun and the city was known for gambling, cards, billiards, and other forms of entertainment from the beginning. Finally, there is a term called the St. Louis junto which describes how St. Louis was and is largely controlled by rich, powerful white men who made many important decisions for the community behind closed doors rather than with public involvement. This reality, which I have heard people in St. Louis describe, was largely a product of the Chouteau’s initial influence in founding the city.

There were also a lot of interesting facts about the relationships between the Chouteau’s and some of the original Eurpoean Settlers and Native Americans. The French were much more willing to involve Native Americans in their everyday lives and essentially created a hybrid society between the Osage and themselves. It was only later when the English and English influenced American settlers began coming that more serious problems arose. The Chouteau’s were the quintessential example of this in that they made their fortune based on having strong relationships with the Osage and other Native American groups. In the early days of the United States they country was forced to rely on the Chouteau’s to negotiate and deal with the Native Americans. The Chouteau’s were able to use this influence and trading advantage to create wealth for themselves and their families. While many of their actions and motivations can be questioned, it is clear that they had much better regard and respect for Native Americans than the settlers and policies that came later.

[Tim Giauque · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book wasn't what I was expecting it to be. With a title like "Before Lewis and Clark," you might be expecting a history of the native tribes living in what is now the region of the US west of the Mississippi River, right? Maybe an overview of their societies, their cultures, maybe even a history of warfare and intertribal disputes. Well, that's not what this book is about. It's a history of the Chouteau family, a dynasty of French immigrants who settled what is now St. Louis and built a sprawling fur-trading and mercantile empire over the span of a few decades.

That's...pretty much it. The Chouteaus were able to leverage their education, slaveholdings, and business acumen into great wealth and power. I feel like there are probably dozens of similar stories about the men who built America on the backs of others and made a name for themselves by stripping the land of resources.

To be fair, the author acknowledges all of this in the epilogue. I think it's important to understand the stories behind how America came to be, and it's critical to acknowledge the privileges these folks leveraged to build our country, whether it's slave labor or having a federal government willing to back you up with threats of violence if native tribes decided not to honor "your" land titles. But, let's be real, it didn't take a brilliant tactical mind to say "hey, maybe we should settle this area where the two largest rivers in North America come together." I think it can be very valuable for historians to tell stories of unknown or unsung heroes, but after reading this book, the Chouteaus don't seem particularly noteworthy or essential to learn about.

[Chris Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, for normal readers they are going to give this a 3 1/2 - 4-star rating because of the thoroughness she brings to her work. The account books of various individuals or the route of a particular party, or the complexity of the relationships between individuals. All the stuff that Elmore Leonard says to leave out because people don't read them. I DON'T CARE. This is a wonderful family biography of a complex, wide-spread, and wide-ranging family that more or less made St. Louis and more widely Missouri and the US west of the Mississippi, and I loved it. She is able to take a thread from the 500-pound ball of yarn that was the Chouteau family, and weave her way to clarity. She does this consistently and entertainingly throughout. More thorough maps would help and she made me sick of 'sic'. If you are dealing with William Clark (as she is, at times,) a reader's note that she is using the spellings of the letter's authors, and the lack of uniformity might help. It is a great read!

[John Holliday · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Louisiana purchase put in context

I liked learning about the first mainly French and American people who came to the Midwest. At first they were a minority among the native people and found ways to get along and do business. A remarkable mixing of cultures.

[Mark Ennis · Rating 4 out of 5]

EXCELLENT BOOK

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book wasn't what I was expecting. I was wanting to read mostly about before Lewis and Clark. Even though the title is misleading, I did enjoy the history of the Chouteau family

[Judi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fabulous account of how the Chouteaus established St Louis and what would become the Midwest.

[Michael Briggs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book about the Chouteaus family and their association with the Native Indians and about the fur trade.

[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

enjoying reading this alongside Eagle's Cry, the story of the Louisiana Purchase. I learned from reading a biography of LaSalle that he had gone to extraordinary lengths to establish good relations and profound trust between himself and the native Americans of the Mississippi Valley. Fascinating that generations later the French settlers continued in his legacy, living and trading peaceably with the local nations. It is regrettable that those who structured the US settling of the West lived out of such a different mandate. The thought comes, 'How different our country would be today, if we had had more respect for those whose rich traditions were well established before we turned their lives upside down...'

[Jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Always nice to have whatever myths we hold around our history shattered into ugly little pieces. This is the history of St. Louis and environs, and the various capitalist and consumptive forces that provide the foundation for my old stomping ground. Not that many people find the subject matter compelling in its own right.

There's no mention of the veiled prophet, though. Is there anything about this character out there?

[Jeannie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I began reading this book to my husband for something for us to do together. We both enjoy anything about the history of St. Louis, and this book fit the bill. However, we lost interest somewhere along the way, although we do intend to begin again. Very detailed account and includes a genealogy of the Chouteau family.

[Maureen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although there's some very interesting history here, especially of the area where I live, I could only digest this book in small doses. I should have heeded the title and read it BEFORE I read Undaunted Courage!

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story of the Choutreaus from the founding of St. Louis in 1764, their symbiotic relationship with the Osage Indians, their extensive role in the fur trade and the lives of their immediate offspring to 1865.

[Roadhouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredible book about St. Louis and development of the Missouri River. I really enjoyed this book and I recommend everyone read this book. This book is the authority on the history of the Missouri River.

[jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was very slow after a while. If it were your area of study or interest, I'm sure you would appreciate it more. It is a shame the Indians were not treated with the same respect after the Chouteaus.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actually much more history after Lewis and Clark...but still a great examination of the role the French played in the development of the country's western frontier.

[Kathleen Callum · Rating 5 out of 5]

For helpful books about the Métis see my Amazon.com reviews http://www.amazon.com/gp/pdp/profile/...