"Nothing Has Been Effected": The Vincennes Treaty of 1792
1978; Indiana University Press; Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
1942-9711
Autores Tópico(s)American History and Culture
ResumoJanuary, 1792, was not a good month for Secretary of War Henry Knox. At his desk in the War Department in Philadel phia, the former Revolutionary War hero pondered a multitude of problems besetting the new American republic. At sea, American commerce was victimized by the Barbary pirates, while closer to home, the British still occupied posts on the western frontier. Moreover, the Indian tribes in the Old North west remained hostile and refused to relinquish their claims to lands north of the Ohio. Although American officials had at tempted to purchase the lands from small delegations of tribesmen, other Indians denounced the transactions and chan neled their opposition into raids against American commerce on the Ohio. Knox had authorized American military forces to retaliate, but in October, 1790, the tribesmen had defeated an expedition commanded by General Josiah Harmar, and one year later, during November, 1791, they had gained an over whelming victory over a larger expedition led by Arthur St. Clair, governor of the Northwest Territory. St. Clair's defeat had been especially humiliating, for in the rout of his troops the Indians had killed over six hundred Americans, including many members of the regular army. During December, 1791, Knox had defended his efforts in a communique to President George Washington, and one month later he had issued another statement vindicating the government's actions. For all practi cal purposes, however, by January, 1792, American Indian pol icy was in shambles.1
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