Tecumseh And The Quest For Indian Leadership Summary

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In “Tecumseh and the Quest for Indian Leadership”, Tecumseh and the many Indian tribes in west America spent years fighting for their land and trying to keep their culture alive. The story illustrates cultural aspects of the period through elucidating the important figure The Shawnees were a patrilineal tribe meaning they are traced through the males of the family. Although men were a main part of the culture, each village had an informal group of women who governed certain tribal rituals and set dates for many activities. Women were also allowed to save captives and prisoners. This practice was foreign to the time period because women do not usually have a voice. Children are inferior and are required to learn the ways to be able to be an …show more content…

America had a newfound fervor for land already occupied by the Indians. Although the Treaty of Paris ended the war, in the west, war continued. In the treaty the British gave up all claims to the lands, but declared the Indians still owned their lands. America thought the Indians had no real claims to the land so they made treaties to legitimize American expansion. During the violent attacks happening between Indians and American settlers, Tecumseh took an active part in the warfare. Tecumseh became accepted as a spokesman for the more militant members of the tribe, but because of his youth, his role in the peace negotiations was minimal. After this, most Shawnees returned to Ohio, but Tecumseh and other warriors stayed behind. As a result of this violent time, Tecumseh was made war chief with a growing following. In 1792, Anthony Wayne was appointed as America’s new military commander in the west. He established two new posts, Fort Greenville and Fort Recovery, to be used as supply depots for future battles against the Indians. With this American advance, the Shawnees assembled warriors along the Maumee, but after a few battles, on August 3, 1795, the Indians signed the Treaty of Greenville. They agreed to keep peace, give up all prisoners, and give up their claims to lands in most of Ohio in return for traded goods and …show more content…

Immigrants took land illegally and crimes against Indians went unpunished. The Indians signed more treaties giving up most of their lands to the United States. With foreign tribesmen coming and settlers being angered a conference was conducted at Fort Greenville with Tecumseh as “principal speaker”. Settlers now occupied these lands, but the Indians did not want to give up their lands feeling that it was given to them by the master of life. Tecumseh agreed that the Greenville treaty line and other established boundaries and it should stand so the border could be used as a defense against further American

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