The Indigenous peoples were able to trade furs to the Europeans for things like food, money, clothing etc. And in turn through companies like Hudson's Bay the Europeans were able to sell the furs back in Europe for profit. The Europeans really liked beaver pelts especially for hats.
You might be able to get some answers from this www.history.com/topics/1980s The answer I got is many Americans embraced a new conservatism in social, economic, and political life during the 1980's.
