JESSIE BENTON FREMONT

Though Jessie Benton was devoted to her father, the dynamic Senator from Missouri, she was willing to relinquish family ties in order to marry John Charles Fremont. Fortunately Senator Benton finally accepted the marriage and gave his reluctant blessing to the new life his daughter was about to enter. Fremont's expeditions to the plateau country between the upper Mississippi and the Missouri were already well known. But his ambitions for surpassed what he had accomplished to date. Fremont carried his explorations to California, fought to win the territory, suffered an unjust court martial and eventually entered the race for the Presidency. Throughout the hazardous journeys, the long separations, the bout with public scandal and eventual success, Jessie's role as wife and companion as well as skillful recorder of each expedition is given the importance it deserves. Miss Higgins, a well known journalist, creates a somewhat idealized interpretation, certainly her style with dialogue is stiff and flowery. But the overall work should be of value to the student of American history.