Imperfect Union, Inskeep, Steve

John C. Fr mont, one of the United Statess leading explorers of the nineteenth century, was relatively unknown in 1842, when he commanded the first of his expeditions to the uncharted West. But in only a few years, he was one of the most acclaimed people of the age - known as a wilderness explorer, bestselling writer, gallant army officer, and latter-day conquistador, who in 1846 began the United Statess takeover of California from Mexico. He was not even 40 years old when Americans began naming mountains and towns after him. He had perfect timing, exploring the West just as it captured the nations attention. But the most important factor in his fame may have been the person who made it all possible: his wife, Jessie Benton Fr mont.

Jessie, the daughter of a United States senator who was deeply involved in the West, provided her husband with entr e to the highest levels of government and media, and his career reached new heights only a few months after their elopement. During a time when women were allowed to make few choices for themselves, Jessie - who herself aspired to roles in exploration and politics - threw her skill and passion into promoting her husband. She worked to carefully edit and publicize his accounts of his travels, attracted talented young men to his circle, and lashed out at his enemies. She became her husbands political adviser, as well as a power player in her own right. In 1856, the famous couple strategized as John became the first-ever presidential nominee of the newly established Republican Party.