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The War of 1812

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Last week

• Euro-American claims of sovereignty based on right of discovery, right of conquest, and treaties

• American policy of civilizing the Indians• Ideal of the Agrarian Republic

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Shifting boundaries

Before and after the Treaties of Greenville (1795) and Fort Wayne (1809)

PBS.org: We Shall Remain

TECUMSEH, a Shawnee

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Tecumseh and Harrison, c. 1810

Exaggerated late 19th century engraving of Harrison’s meeting with Tecumseh. New York Public Library.

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Tenskwatawa (Shawnee Prophet & brother of Tecumseh)

Portrait by Henry Inman after Charles Bird King, c. 1830-1833, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian

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Tippecanoe =Prophetstown

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“The only way to stop this evil [white settlement of the Indians’ land] is for all the red men to unite in claiming a common and equal right in the land as it was at first, and should be now – for it never was divided, but belongs to all…Sell a country! Why not sell the air, the clouds and the great sea, as well as the earth? Did not the Great Spirit make them all for the use of his children?”

--Tecumseh (1810)

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Competing strategies

• Nativist• Accommodationist

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Consequences of the War

• U.S. agreed to leave Canada to the British• British agreed to stop supporting Indians

within the U.S.

American geographic expansionCession of Indian lands

11Maps ETC, Florida Center for Instructional Technology

Upper Creeks: Embraced Tecumseh’sIdea of resistence

Lower Creeks:Embraced ‘civilization’program

12http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/national_parks/horseshoe_bend_cessions.jpg

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After the War of 1812 and the Creek War of 1813

• Native Americans could not rely on foreign support

• America expanded west of the Mississippi• Adherence to ‘Civilization’ program did not

end conflict

14Norton Anthology of American Literature, 8th ed.

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midterm exam- 7 November

• Definitions: briefly define 2 out of 3 terms (4 pts)

• Identification: identify the author of the passage and briefly explain its context (2 pts) Commentary: read a document and analyze it (14 pts)

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Your commentary should include:

• A first paragraph that situates the document in its historical context and introduces your analysis;

• At least two paragraphs in which you analyze the document, i.e. identify the main points, explain any important terms or concepts, analyze the author (or speaker’s) assumptions, goals, strategies, etc.

• A conclusion that explains the significance of this document for our understanding of Native American history.

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• Why did Tecumseh want to fight the Americans?

• How did Pushmataha view the Americans?