Black Hawk War

The Black Hawk War was fought in 1832 in the Midwestern section of the United States. The war was named for Black Hawk, the leader of a band of Sauk and Fox Indians, who fought against the U.S. Army and Illinois militia for possession of lands in the region.

Background

In 1804, William Henry Harrison, Governor of Indiana Territory (which then included what would become Illinois), negotiated a treaty in St. Louis with a group of Sauk and Fox leaders, in which they ceded lands east of the Mississippi in exchange for $1,000 per year and the condition that the tribes could continue to reside there until the land was surveyed and sold by the U.S. government. http://digital.library.okstate.edu/kappler/Vol2/treaties/sau0074.htm

Related Topics:
1804 - William Henry Harrison - Governor - Indiana Territory - St. Louis - Mississippi

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However, this treaty was subsequently disputed by Black Hawk and other members of the tribes, since the full tribal councils had not been consulted. After the War of 1812, in which Black Hawk had fought against the U.S., he signed a peace treaty in May of 1816 that re-affirmed the treaty of 1804, a provision of which Black Hawk later protested ignorance. While Black Hawk was away during the War of 1812, Keokuk had been selected as his replacement as war chief of the Sauks, and the two men became rivals.

Related Topics:
War of 1812 - 1816 - Keokuk

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The white population of Illinois exploded after the War of 1812, exceeding 50,000 in 1820 and 150,000 in 1830. In 1825, thirteen Sauks and six Foxes signed another agreement re-affirming the 1804 treaty. In 1828, the U.S. government liaison, Thomas Forsyth, informed the tribes that they should begin vacating their settlements east of the Mississippi.

Related Topics:
White - Thomas Forsyth

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On July 15, 1830, U.S. Indian Commissioner William Clark signed a treaty with Sauk and Fox leaders at Fort Crawford in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin http://digital.library.okstate.edu/kappler/Vol2/treaties/sau0305.htm. The treaty ceded about 26,500,000 acres (107,000 km²) of Sauk land east of the Mississippi to the government of the United States. It also created a "Neutral Ground" boundary between the Sauk and Foxes and their traditional enemies, the Sioux, for the purpose of preventing future hostilities between the tribes. The treaty was signed by Keokuk, and in October 1830 was approved by the Dakota Sioux.{{fn|1}}

Related Topics:
July 15 - 1830 - William Clark - Fort Crawford - Prairie du Chien - Wisconsin - Mississippi - Government of the United States - Sioux - Dakota

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