A fur trader in the Michigan Territory and confidant of both the U.S. government and local Indian tribes, Jacob Smith could have stepped out of a James Fennimore Cooper novel. Controversial, mysterious, and bold during his lifetime, in death Smith has not, until now, received the attention he deserves as a pivotal figure in Michigan's American period and the War of 1812. This is the exciting and unlikely story of a man at the frontier's edge, whose missions during both war and peace laid the groundwork for Michigan to accommodate settlers and farmers moving west. The book investigates Smith's many pursuits, including his role as an advisor to the Indians, from whom the federal government would gradually gain millions of acres of land, due in large part to Smith's work as an agent of influence. Crawford paints a colorful portrait of a complicated man during a dynamic period of change in Michigan's history.
- ISBN10 1611860261
- ISBN13 9781611860269
- Publish Date 1 March 2012
- Publish Status Active
- Out of Print 16 April 2015
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Michigan State University Press
- Format Paperback
- Pages 320
- Language English