Indian Wars

The Indian Wars were a series of conflicts between the United States and Native American peoples ("Indians") of North America. The wars, which ranged from colonial times to the Wounded Knee massacre and "closing" of the American frontier in 1890, collectively resulted in the conquest of American Indian peoples and their decimation, assimilation, or forced relocation to Indian reservations.

East of the Mississippi (1776-1835)

American Revolution (1776-1783)

Main article: Frontier warfare during the American Revolution

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:"The American Revolution, a fight for freedom from colonial rule, was also the most extensive and destructive 'Indian war' in the nation's history. Whereas other wars affected individual nations, the Revolution affected all Native Americans east of the Mississippi."

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::--Ray Raphael, A People's History of the American Revolution: How Common People Shaped the Fight for Independence (New York: The New Press, 2001), p. 244.

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The American Revolutionary War officially came to a conclusion with the Treaty of Paris (1783). However, Native Americans were not consulted during the negotiations, and those Indians who had been allied with the British during the war were shocked to learn that the British had ceded native lands to the Americans without notice. Exhausted by a long war, Indians were unable to effectively oppose the United States without British support. Many Native American leaders signed "conquest treaties" after the war, the terms of which were often dictated to the Indians by the Americans.

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Wars of the Old Northwest

In 1787, the Continental Congress of the United States passed the Northwest Ordinance, which officially organized the Northwest Territory for white settlement. American settlers began pouring into the region. Violence erupted as Indians resisted this encroachment, and so the administration of President George Washington sent armed expeditions into the area to put down native resistance. However, in the Northwest Indian War, a pan-tribal confederacy led by Blue Jacket (Shawnee), Little Turtle (Miami), Buckongahelas (Lenape), and Egushawa (Ottawa) crushed armies led by Generals Josiah Harmar and Arthur St. Clair. General St. Clair's defeat was the severest loss that would ever be inflicted upon an American army by Native Americans. The Americans attempted to negotiate a settlement, but Blue Jacket and the Shawnee-led confederacy insisted on a boundary line the Americans found unacceptable, and so a new expedition led by General Anthony Wayne was dispatched. Wayne's army defeated the Indian confederacy at the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794. The Indians had hoped for British assistance; when that was not forthcoming, the Indians were compelled to sign the Treaty of Greenville in 1795, which ceded modern-day Ohio and part of Indiana to the United States.

Related Topics:
1787 - Continental Congress - Northwest Ordinance - Northwest Territory - George Washington - Northwest Indian War - Blue Jacket - Little Turtle - Buckongahelas - Egushawa - Josiah Harmar - Arthur St. Clair - Anthony Wayne - Battle of Fallen Timbers - 1794 - Treaty of Greenville - 1795 - Ohio - Indiana

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In 1800, William Henry Harrison became governor of the Indiana Territory, and pursued an aggressive policy of obtaining titles to Indian lands. Two Shawnee brothers, Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa, organized another pan-tribal resistance to American expansion. However, while Tecumseh was in the south attempting to recruit allies among the Creeks, Cherokees, and Choctaws, Harrison marched against the Indian confederacy, defeating Tenskwatawa and his followers at the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811. This was a severe blow for Tecumseh, but his efforts continued with British support in the War of 1812, which was, for many Native Americans, simply a continuation of the struggle already in progress. Indeed, the War of 1812 was a massive Indian war, and Tecumseh was killed by Harrison's army at the Battle of the Thames. The War of 1812 was a major turning point in the Indian Wars, marking the last time that Native Americans could turn to a foreign power for assistance against the United States.

Related Topics:
1800 - William Henry Harrison - Indiana Territory - Tecumseh - Tenskwatawa - Another pan-tribal resistance - Creek - Cherokee - Choctaw - Battle of Tippecanoe - 1811 - War of 1812 - Battle of the Thames

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Without support from their British allies, the Native Americans of the Ohio River valley and Old Northwest region were pushed west of the Mississippi River by the federal government through a series of imposed treaties. The major resistance to relocation in this region was the Black Hawk War in 1832. However, the combined forces of Sauk and Fox tribes failed to prevent the land from United States annexation. The Battle of Bad Axe marked the end of the Black Hawk War after the Native Americans were crushed by Colonel Zachary Taylor's forces.

Related Topics:
Ohio River - Old Northwest - Mississippi River - Black Hawk War - 1832 - Sauk - Fox - Battle of Bad Axe - Zachary Taylor

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Wars in the South

• The Creek War (1813-1814), also known as the Red Stick War and the Creek Civil War, began as a civil war within the Creek (Muscogee) nation. It is sometimes considered to be part of War of 1812. It concluded with the Treaty of Fort Jackson, which ceded 23 million acres (93,000 km²), half of Alabama and part of southern Georgia, to the United States government.
• Seminole Wars

:* The First Seminole War in 1818 concerned the invasion of Florida by U.S. troops in retribution for Spanish aid to the Seminole. It was concluded by the Adams-Onís Treaty, which finalized the transfer of Florida to the United States in 1819

Related Topics:
First Seminole War - 1818 - Florida - Adams-Onís Treaty - 1819

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:* The Second Seminole War (1835-1843). The U.S. defeated the Seminole and the Creek tribes of Georgia, who were forced to relocate farther west. One of the major battles was the Battle of Lake Okeechobee in 1837.

Related Topics:
Second Seminole War - 1835 - 1843 - Seminole - Creek - Georgia - Battle of Lake Okeechobee - 1837

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Indian removal

President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act into law in 1830. The Removal Act did not order the removal of any American Indians, but it authorized the president to negotiate treaties that would exchange tribal land in the east for western lands that had been acquired in the Louisiana Purchase. Jackson favored relocating Native American tribes outside existing states primarily for national security reasons, since most Indians had sided with the British in the Revolution and the War of 1812.

Related Topics:
Andrew Jackson - Indian Removal Act - 1830 - American Indian - Louisiana Purchase

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The Removal Act was especially popular in the South, where population growth and the discovery of gold on Cherokee land increased pressure on tribal lands. The state of Georgia became involved in a contentious jurisdictional dispute with the Cherokees, culminating in the 1832 Supreme Court decision (Worcester v. Georgia) that ruled that Georgia could not impose its laws upon Cherokee tribal lands.

Related Topics:
South - Gold - Cherokee - Georgia - 1832 - Supreme Court - Worcester v. Georgia

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However, Jackson had no intention of protecting the Cherokees from Georgia, though he never actually uttered the famous defiant quote attributed to him ("John Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce it!"). A faction of Cherokees led by Major Ridge, realizing that removal under Jackson was inevitable, negotiated the Treaty of New Echota with Jackson's administration, a treaty of dubious legality that most Cherokees rejected. However, the terms of the treaty were strictly enforced by Jackson's successor, Martin van Buren, leading to what became known as the "Trail of Tears", which resulted in the deaths of thousands of Cherokees. Other Native American tribes were removed as well; see Indian Removal.

Related Topics:
John Marshall - Major Ridge - Treaty of New Echota - Martin van Buren - Trail of Tears - Indian Removal

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