| Expansion into the Trans-Appalachain West: American Indian Resistance and Slavery (1763-1855) |
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Sections:- Proclamation of 1763
- Treaty of Fort Stanwix, 1768
- Phyllis Wheatley, 1753-1784
- Treaties with the Six Nations
- Letter from George Washington to Senate on Cherokee Indians
- Olaudah Equiano: Horrors of the Middle Passage, 1780s
- Confederation Congress: Disposing of Lands in the Western Territories, 1785
- Instructions to Superintendents of Indian Affairs, 1786
- Land Ordinances of the 1780's
- Slave Trade Acts
- Treaty of Greenville, 1795
- Slave Advertisements
- Louisiana Purchase, 1803
- Early Exploration: The Lewis and Clark Expedition, 1804-1806
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| Historical Context
Prior to the American Revolutionary War, the British government attempted to define boundaries between Native American lands and the colonies. The issuance of such a document created a starting point for future American-American Indian relations, especially concerning white expansion into Native territory. The proclamation states that white inhabitants will not pass the Appalachians. Attached Documents
The text of the Proclamation of 1763 appears below. Issued by King George following the French-Indian War, the document specifically addresses territorial boundaries of the colonies before addressing the Indian lands.
The modern map shown below shows the boundaries designated by King George in the Proclamation of 1763. Questions to Consider
1. To what degree do you think King George expected to curtail expansion of the American colonists? |
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| Historical Context
The Proclamation issued by King George did little to reduce conflicts between the Native Americans and the settlers. In 1768, William Johnson, the Superintendent of Indian Affairs, negotiated a treaty in which, the natives forfeited their rights to all lands to the south east of the Ohio River. The treaty, however, was negotiated between the English and the Iroquois only, infuriating the many other tribes who lived around the Ohio River and were not involved in the conference. English settlers quickly moved into the valley and were met with intense resistance from the native inhabitants.Attached Documents
The text of the treaty, found below is subtitled the Deed Determining the Boundary Line between the Whites and the Indians, addresses the new boundaries for Native American and English territory. The map below shows the boundary line designated by the new treaty. Questions to Consider
1. Why do you think the treaty was only negotiated with the Iroquois, while the other tribes were left out?
2. Do you think that William Johnson believed in the longevity of this treaty? Was it intended to stop white advancement or was it seen as a stopgap measure? |
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| Historical Context
Phillis Wheatley is one of the best known poets of her generation. She was taken from West Africa as a young girl and sold to John Wheatley in Boston. Wheatley learned to read and write quickly and became well versed in English, Greek and Latin. In 1773, 39 of her poems were published in London, a publisher could not be found in Boston to publish an African American's work, and were distributed widely. This book, Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral was the first collection of poems published with an African American author. Her conversion to Christianity is evident in much of her work, a predominate percentage of which are elegies.Attached Documents
The two pieces included below are On Being Brought from Africa to America, a short selection addressing her appreciation for being brought into a Christian home and A Hymn to Humanity a longer selection praising God and America. An image of the poet from the cover of her book follows below. Questions to Consider
1. After reading her poetry, how do you think Wheatley viewed her life of servitude? Is freedom or Christianity more important to her?
2. Why do you think it was possible for Wheatley to be published in London, but not in Boston? |
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| Historical Context
The conflicts between Native Americans and European settlers continued throughout the American War of Independence and beyond. The fledgling American Government, at this time organized under the Articles of Confederation, was in need of financing. In order to raise money, the government hoped to sell lands west of the Appalachians to settlers. However, they first had to obtain the land by persuading the natives to give up their rights to the territory. The Six Nations (the Tuscaroras, the Mohawks, the Onondagas, the Oneidas, the Senecas, and the Cayugas) negotiated a treaty in 1784 forgoing their claims to the land in Ohio. Five years later, in 1789, tribal representatives met with the governor of the Northwest Territory, Arthur St. Clair to reaffirm the decision made in 1784. The conference was revisited again in 1796 to further solidify the American's hold on the territory and to expand the control exerted over the Native Americans from the area.Attached Documents
The text of all three treaties appear below. The evolution of white control over the area can be seen in the change of wording and definitions from one document to the next. Questions to Consider
1. How do you see the settlers encroaching on Indian territory?
2. Is this the same method the Native Americans would have used when dealing with each other? |
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| Historical Context
On November 28, 1785, the Confederation Congress negotiated a treaty with the Cherokee Nation in which the Cherokees were allotted certain lands for hunting grounds. The treaty also stipulated that non-Native settlers would not be allowed on the land. Attached Documents
In the following 1790 letter to the U.S. Senate, President Washington notes that the treaty with the Cherokees has been violated by white settlers. Images of the original 3 page document are also found below. Questions to Consider
1. Do you think Washington is a friend to the Cherokee people?
2. What does the President intend to do about the treaty violations? In this case, why might the U.S. government not be responsible for living up to the terms of the original treaty? |
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| Historical Context
In one of the largest forced migrations in human history, up to 12 million Africans were sold as slaves to Europeans and shipped to the Americas. Most slaves were seized inland and marched to coastal forts, where they were chained below deck in ships for the journey across the Atlantic or “Middle Passage,” under conditions designed to ship the largest number of people in the smallest space possible. Olaudah Equiano had been kidnapped from his family when he was 11 years old, carried off first to Barbados and then Virginia. After serving in the British navy, he was sold to a Quaker merchant from whom he purchased his freedom in 1766. His pioneering narrative of the journey from slavery to freedom, a bestseller first published in London in 1789, builds upon the traditions of spiritual narratives and travel literature to help create the slave narrative genre.Attached Documents
The text of Equiano's memoir of the Middle Passage follows below. Additionally, there is an image of the author from the publication of his book. For a better understanding of the conditions that prevailed on the Middle Passage, there is a diagram of slave quarters on the ship and contemporary artist's rendering of the state of affairs on the ships. Questions to Consider
1. Do you think Equiano's account played a role in the changing views of slavery?
2. Why do you think the slaves were treated as they were in the Middle Passage? Were they considered humans, animals, or cargo? |
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| Historical Context
At the end of the Revolutionary War, the United States owed huge debts. It also owned vast assets, the largest of which were the lands between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River. For these lands to have value, however, the Confederation Congress needed to find a way to survey and sell them. To do so, Congress divided the western lands into townships six miles square. Each township was in turn divided into 36 sections. Each section contained 640 acres. Land was to be sold by section at one dollar per acre.Attached Documents
The text of the ordinance follows below along with an image of the original document. Questions to Consider
1. What other goals was Congress trying to achieve with its land policy?
2. What groups and interests was Congress trying to protect? |
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| Historical Context
Created in 1824, the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs was charged with managing all relations between Native Americans and whites. The superintendents were often called upon for the negotiation of treaties and arrangement of land transfers. William Clark, half of the well known exploration team of Lewis and Clark, served as a Superintendent of Indian Affairs providing him with the authority to allow settlers the right to travel through Indian Territory.Attached Documents
The following document outlines the duties and principles of conduct of Superintendents of Indian Affairs. The certificate of superintendence belonging to William Clark is shown below. Questions to Consider
1.If you had been appointed to the position of Superintendent of Indian Affairs, what duties would you have been expected to perform?
2. What principles of conduct would you have been expected to demonstrate?
3.Do you think the Congress expected the superintendents to represent the interests of the government, the Native Americans, or both? |
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| Historical Context
In spite of the limited powers of the Confederation Congress, they managed to successfully plan the settlement of the Trans-Appalachian West. Negotiations were begun with Native American tribes in order for the new government to persuade the Indians that the Treaty of Paris had eliminated their claim to Trans-Appalachian lands. In order to officially establish control, three ordinances were issued. The first, the Ordinance of 1784, was written by Thomas Jefferson would have allowed for new states established in the territory to be admitted to the Confederation as soon as their population equaled that of the smallest current state. The Ordinance of 1784 was never passed. The Land Ordinance of 1785 was designed to ensure the government would be able to sell the lands for a profit, effectively preventing settlers from squatting on the lands. Lastly, the Northwest Ordinance provided for the establishment of three to five territories in what is now Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. The Northwest Ordinance prohibited slavery and designated funds for schools.Attached Documents
The text of Thomas Jefferson's proposed Ordinance is below. Additionally, excerpts from the Land Ordinance Act of 1785 are found below. The full text of the Northwest Ordinance is also found below. Questions to Consider
1. What differences in Thomas Jefferson's proposed ordinance and the final Northwest Ordinance to you see? What could be the reason the first was not passed?
2. What precedent did the Land Ordinance of 1785 establish?
3. Do you think it was difficult or easy for a new state to be admitted to the Confederacy under the Northwest Ordinance? |
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| Historical Context
Although the Revolutionary War did not bring an end to slavery in the United States, in the years following the war, many people were compelled to slow the expansion of slavery. A series of slave trade acts were passed from 1794 to 1807 designed to stop the importation and transportation of slaves in the United States. Attached Documents
The 1794 Slave Trade Act making it illegal to transport slaves for the purpose of being sold to or from any of the ports of the United States. The 1800 amendment to the original act, goes further, making it illegal to work on a ship used for the transportation of slaves. The 1803 Slave Trade Act went even further making it illegal to have any interaction with a ship used to transport slaves. The final act, in 1807, expanded the penalties for anyone involved in the importation of slaves. Questions to Consider
1. Why do you think the government did not directly outlaw slavery?
2. What further additions would need to be made to the act of 1807 to make slavery illegal? How does the current wording allow for the continuation of the institution? |
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| Historical Context
The Treaty of Greenville was signed at Fort Greenville, Ohio by the United States and a coalition of Native American tribes. It followed the Native Americans' loss at the Battle of Fallen Timbers and put an end to the Northwest Indian Wars. The United States compensated the Native Americans with money for goods lost in the battles in exchange for land. Attached Documents
Excerpts from the Treaty of Greenville follow, highlighting the new boundaries of Native American lands and the United States of America as well as the agreements reached between the two groups. The map shown below is the original accompaniment to the Treaty of Greenville. The final image is the last page of the treaty, on which the Native American's made their marks in order to make the document official.
Questions to Consider
1. What is the point of the treaty?
2. What do both the United States and the Native American tribes want to end? |
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| Historical Context
Although slavery was under attack from many different segments of the American population, it was still alive and well at the turn of the 19th century. Advertisements were commonly found in newspapers and on flyers around the country.Attached Documents
The first advertisement, from Charleston in 1769, displays how slaves were sold before the importation of slave acts were put into place. The advertisement entitled "To Be Sold" appeared in The State Gazette & New-Jersey Advertiser on May 30, 1797. In 1800 there were reportedly 12,422 slaves in New Jersey, the last northern state to abolish slavery. The final image is a slave advertisement from Kentucky in 1855 as the institution neared its end in the United States. Questions to Consider
1. How are the slaves represented in the earlier advertisement?
2. What do you find most remarkable about the 1797? Do you think a slave's wishes would have been considered thirty years earlier? Do you think that consideration is unique to the seller?
3. How are the slaves referred to in the later advertisement?
4. What similarities/differences do you see between the earlier and later documents? What part do you think the geographical differences play in the representation of slaves? |
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| Historical Context
When Napoleon took control of France in 1799, Thomas Jefferson worried that the tumultuous situation would hinder trade along the Mississippi River. Jefferson saw the port of New Orleans as necessary to the success of the nation. For these reasons, Jefferson charged Robert Livingston, the American minister in Paris, with the purchase New Orleans. In April of 1803, however, Napoleon changed his focus for expansion and offered to sell the entirety of Louisiana for $15 million (the equivalent of roughly $200 million in 2000 dollars). Together with James Monroe, the ambassador to Britain, Robert Livingston agreed upon the sale.Attached Documents
The text of the Louisiana Purchase is found below in addition to a contemporary map of the territory under consideration. The second map is a cartographically corrected map of the Louisiana Purchase. Lastly, an artist's rendering of Robert Livingston signing the Louisiana Purchase follows below. Questions to Consider
1. What differences do you see between the two maps of the Louisiana Purchase? Do you think the treaty between France and the United States would have been different if more accurate cartography had been available?
2. What constitutional repercussions do you think resulted when Livingston was charged with the purchase of New Orleans, but purchased all of Louisiana? |
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| Historical Context
In 1803, President Jefferson asked Congress in a secret address to commission an exploratory expedition across the uncharted western United States. The Corps of Discovery, led by Captain Meriwether Lewis and Second Lieutenant William Clark of the United States Army, was the first overland expedition to the Pacific coast and back. Lewis was an expert in botany and zoology and Clark was a cartographer and a student of native cultures. Jefferson's vision of expanding the "empire of liberty" and populating it with self-sufficient families and farmers was to guide the thinking of American presidents and pioneers throughout the early nineteenth century. After Lewis and Clark, a number of other government-sponsored expeditions were initiated to ascertain the wild territories of the American West.
Attached Documents
The detailed instructions to Lewis and Clark from President Thomas Jefferson define the priorities of the mission and illustrate the degree to which the west was unknown.
The map below shows Lewis and Clark's route.
Questions to Consider
1. What does the President define as the primary objective of the expedition? What kinds of observations should be carefully recorded to enhance the future fulfillment of this objective?
2. What instructions does the President give regarding the Native Americans? What kind of relationship does he want the United States to have with them? |
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