American Fur Trade Case

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4) The Indians would have to be the most important stakeholders of the nineteenth century fur industry. They were great with trapping many animals and skinning them for the fur. They were definitely not treated correctly and respectfully. Tons of them were severely robbed and cheated that they ended up in tons of debt. Employees of the American Fur Company were also treated horribly and had to work in very dangerous conditions. Today, the standards have definitely been changed and I believe this would never happen because now American has laws and acts in place for being equal.

5) I believe that the American Fur Company legacy and with its trade was overall not positive and more negative. This is because nature was severely damaged with the reduction of forests, which then resulted in the animal population to decrease. Trappers often would die because of the hazardous working conditions. Astor would probably say that that it was a positive legacy overall and of course if he is just focusing on himself, it was good for him because he became the wealthiest man in America and made tons of profit.

6) I believe that the American Fur Company has made a big impact on capitalism and with why it has changed over the years. All of the trade’s profits were completely controlled by Astor and he kept all of the profits rather than by the state. He had all his trappers that were employed in the company working in very hazardous conditions and Astor wouldn’t even take time of the day to try and ensure their safety. Natural resources were taken over with the fur company as well. There were no policies in place back then for the environment, but today there is and the government is stricter with the companies being friendly to the environment.

7) The Dominance Model stood out to me the most with applying it to this case. The model basically focuses more on power and wealth, which pretty much sums up what Astor was aiming for with the American Fur Company. The government in the era of the American Fur Company was not too strong based on the influence of Astor’s business along with the non-effective constraint for social responsibility.