Chapter 14

1783 – 1812

THE PERIOD POST AMERICAN REVOLUTION TO WAR OF 1812

It is entirely understandable that the beginning period of the new American Nation was filled with a sense of tentativeness as the governing authorities laid the framework of governance that would sustain the new Country for centuries to come. In the order of prioritization, the continuing conflict between the Native American Indian Tribes and the American Settlers was most likely far down on the list of "hot topics" to address with a sense of urgency. Still, the follow-on concepts of "Manifest Destiny" and the creation of States with rights of their own were soon to follow as the newly created Nation expanded westward.

"Sectionalism" at that juncture was limited to the NEW ENGLAND REGION, THE MIDDLE ATLANTIC REGION AND THE SOUTHERN REGION.

Right from the very beginning, the perplexing contradiction of SLAVERY in a free land caused sectional rivalry and contrasted cultural differences. We will see in Chapter 16 how that cultural contrast played out in the bloody American Civil War with five long years of brother against brother and with freedom for all at stake. The reality of slavery was ever present in the American Indian culture dating back even before the current conflict began in 1492. Intertribal warfare used the tool of slavery to subjugate defeated tribes and even took the steps of bartering their newly acquired slaves to traders who would send them on one way trips to the Sugar Islands and other less accommodating locales for a lifetime of drudgery.

In the period before the American Revolution, large numbers of Native Americans lived in the areas now populated by the European Settlers. A sizable portion of the rural population was racially mixed mostly due to a shortage of adult females in the flow of "Indentured Servants" flowing into the American ports from Europe. Indian enclaves in New England, Long Island and New Jersey were sources of willing male fighters to join with the Minutemen in the fight against the British regulars.

During the years of the American Revolution, certain tribes aligned with the American Militia as scouts and even in tactical fighting units. However, there can be no doubt that the majority of the American Indian Tribes sided with the British Regular troops because the British negotiators constantly stressed that they would insure the sanctity of the Indian sacred lands and protect the integrity of their hunting grounds. The British Officers were quick to appreciate the value of the French use of the Native Indian Tribes to further their cause in defeating the mostly English American Settlers during the French and Indian Wars and quickly decided to follow the same methods in defeating their rebellious former colonists now opposing them in the American Revolution.

The years after the end of the American Revolutionary War were filled with struggles between "Tories" and "Patriots" to come to settlement of their differences. The only way in the mind of the Rebel families was that the Tories be banished from the territory of the new Nation. Eventually, most of the Tory families relocated to Canada, Newfoundland, or Nova Scotia. They left most of the possessions behind because they were in a panic to escape before the mood turned sour and blood would flow yet again. At the same time that the new government was saddled with the need to relocate the Tory supporters of the King to lands outside the "Lower 48", they saw the need to subdue and remove the bulk of the American Indian Tribes still remaining in the original 13 colonies even if the Native Americans supported the Patriot cause or not. The newly formed government saw the challenge of ejecting the American Indian Tribes from those lands that were on the western borders of development to include the Ohio River Valley and lands east of the Mississippi River. This land was considered by most European Countries to be Open Lands or even future promised Indian Territory. Of course, the newly formed American government attitude was that the British Rule from Parliament and the French Court decrees from thousands of miles away were unable to award any of those lands to the Native Indian Tribes unless the newly formed American government was in full agreement.

At this particular point in time, the American public was well disposed toward the French primarily because of their timely assistance in defeating the British Regular Army and the prior troubles of the French and Indian Wars were long forgotten. The French were carefully weighing their plans for the future of the Ohio River Valley and the territory along the Mississippi River. The second Treaty of Paris of 1783 was filled with concessions to the French for their assistance effectively neutralizing objections to French influence. However the competing timeline of their troubles with the overthrow of the French monarchy and the period of Terror in France gave their political planners little time to take advantage of the loss of power of England in the New World and they were more concerned with sorting out their internal affairs rather than get involved in foreign intrigue. The gruesome aspects of the executions of the nobility and other intelligentsia in Paris seemed far removed from the life on the ground in the newly created United States of America and the British Parliament bided its time waiting for an opportune time to strike back at their offspring Nation with the "Iron Fist" of revenge. It came in the form of the War of 1812 with the sound of drums, the bagpipes wailing and the long lines of Red forming attacking formations in the freshly built cities of the new nation. The war started well for the London war planners but eventually fell into the familiar pattern of limited resources and impossible lines of communication and logistics that were too detracting to any chance of success. Much blood was shed and old wounds reopened but the result was the same as in the American Revolution with complete defeat for the British Regular Army at the hands of an inspired populace.

As far as the Native American Indian Tribes were concerned, the loss of prestige of France after the defeat in the French and Indian Wars, and the defeat of the British Regular Army in the American Revolution meant they were primarily opposed by the newly created government of the United States of America which was poised on the starting line waiting to expand its influence westward.

The following excerpt is from a letter written by Thomas Jefferson just as the American Revolution was being finalized. It shows with great clarity the thought of the signers of the Declaration of Independence with regard to the Indian problem even before they had defeated the British Regular Army on the battlefield in the American Revolution. The future leaders of the American government were primarily interested in steady movement west to settle new territory and they knew full well it would require relocation of the Native Indian Tribes further west to accommodate the expansion.

Thomas Jefferson was a proponent of the complete removal of all Native American Indian Tribes beyond the Mississippi River and he gave that same advice to the Congress after the battle was won.

All of the confrontation immediately following the defeat of the British Regular Army was because in many cases the American Indian Tribes were robbed of their traditional hunting grounds with little or no chance of ever regaining them. The years of ferocious joint British and Indian attacks in the outer reaches of the rebelling colonies caused the American Militias to seek retaliation on the vulnerable Indian villages and towns. Any tribe suspected of being supportive of the British troops was evicted from their territory and told to move out of the American territory. The Militia burned the Indian crops and killed many innocent Indians who were in the worst case merely neutral. The end of the war witnessed the migration of many recently arrived American settlers onto the vacated Indian lands.

This letter was written by Thomas Jefferson in the last years of the American Revolution.

"I have heard with much concern of the many murders committed by the Indians ... in the neighborhood of Pittsburg[h]. Hostilities so extensive [indicate] ... a formidable Combination of that kind of enemy. Propositions have been made for ... stations of men as present a safeguard to the Frontiers, but I own they do not appear to me adequate to the object; all experience has proved that you cannot be defended from the savages but by carrying the war home to themselves and striking decisive blows. It is therefore my opinion that instead of putting our Frontier Inhabitants under that fallacious idea of security, an expedition must be instantly undertaken into the Indian County. Want of full information ... put[s] it out of my power to direct the minute parts of such an expedition or to point it to its precise object. Such a plan laid here would probably be rendered abortive by difficulties in the articles of provisions, ill adjusted times and places of rendezvous, and impose unforeseen events and circumstances, which if to be explained and amended from here time to time, the evil will have had its course while we are contriving how to ward it off. I can therefore only undertake to authorize such an expedition and put it into a train for execution...

It might be premature to speak of terms of peace but if events will justify it, the only condition with the Shawnees should be their removal beyond the Mississippi or the [Great] Lakes, and with the other tribes whatever may most effectually secure their observation of the treaty. We have been too diverted by interests of Humanity from enforcing good behavior by severe punishment. Savages are to be curbed by fear only; We are not in a condition to repeat expensive expeditions against them. The business will more be done so as not to have to repeat it again and that instead of making peace on their Application you will only make it after such as shall be felt and remembered by them as long as they are a nation."

It was common for the extended families of the English settlers to be split asunder by the rigors of the battles of the American Revolution with brother against brother and relative against relative. When bloodshed was involved the discussions turned to violence and the emotions lasted long after the war was concluded.

In a similar manner, American Indian Tribes long associated in Confederacies and Nations became split in their support for one side or the other in the American Revolution and the bloodshed principle applied equally as emotionally in the villages and towns of the Indian Tribes. As an example, let us look at the Iroquois Nation or "The Six Nations Confederacy" which did not agree about which side they wanted to support during the American Revolution.

Discussions at Tribal Council meetings in the Middle Atlantic section of the Colonies led to an initial decision to remain "NEUTRAL" because it was felt the fighting between the British Regular Army and the English Settlers was a private affair, an argument within a family and better left to the family to resolve.

A Mohawk chief called Thayendanega, also known as "Joseph Brant" was famous for siding with the British Regular Army because he had many friends in the higher ranks of the Redcoats. They cultivated his favor and gave him many presents. However, his underlying motivation for siding with the British rule was his raging anger at the English colonists for stealing the sacred lands of the Tribe. He was well respected for his fighting skills and had influence with not only the Mohawk Tribe but was much liked by the Senecas, the Onondagas, and the Cayugas as well. The fact that he was also a skilled speaker with the ability to persuade his peers allowed him to convince the warriors of those tribes to side with the British Army against the American Militias.