34-Fort Snelling

     France sold all the land drained by the Mississippi River in 1803.  At the time, nobody knew how much land that was.  The next year President Jefferson sent Lewis & Clark to the Pacific Ocean to tell him.  They also reported on plants, animals and the people they found.  
     The French acknowledged the American claim. They were the only ones!  The Canadians did not trust the Americans.  The Americans did not trust the British.  The Dakota and Ojibwe Indians had no trust for anybody (including each other)!  When there is no trust, a military fort is the best option.  Fort Snelling began construction in 1820 with the Round Tower.  Built high above the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers, the mission was two fold; keep the peace and permit the trade in beaver pelts, fashionable on European hats.  Success was...partial!
     As the frontier moved west, European fashion changed from New World beaver to Chinese silk.  Fort Snelling had other missions until after World War II.  Frontier protection morphs into historical preservation.