The Indian World of George Washington

by Colin G. Calloway

  According to the anthropologist Lewis Henry Morgan, who published his famous work The League of the Iroquois in 1851, one of “the modern beliefs engrafted upon the ancient faith” merited particular notice. It related to Washington. In Iroquois belief, there was no place for white men in the Indian heaven, “but an exception was made in favor of Washington.” Despite unleashing devastation on Seneca towns during the Revolution, as president he was kind to Indians when he could have killed them all, protected their rights, and advocated policies “of the most enlightened justice and humanity.” Evidently they did not blame Washington personally for the losses they had suffered during his lifetime and during his administration. When he died, he was not permitted to go into the presence of the Great Spirit but, “dressed in his uniform, and in a state of perfect felicity,” resided just outside the Iroquois heaven, “destined to remain through eternity in the solitary enjoyment of the celestial residence prepared for him by the Great Spirit.”56

  Whether the Great Spirit, Handsome Lake, or Morgan put the revered first president on his celestial pedestal is difficult to say. Nevertheless, some Senecas clearly held Washington and his memory in reverence. The same the year Morgan published his League of the Iroquois, Ely S. Parker was installed “as leading Sachem of the Iroquois Confederacy.” As part of the ritual, the peace medal that was “given by the great Washington to my tribal relative, Red Jacket,” was hung around his neck “to be retained and worn as evidence of the bond of perpetual peace and friendship established and entered into between the people of the United States and the Six Nations of Indians at the time of its presentation.”57 Parker would later serve as Ulysses S. Grant’s secretary when Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox and as the first Native commissioner of Indian affairs.

  Washington had offered the Senecas his vision for their future. His message preached complete cultural transformation as the path to survival in a world where people of Indian descent lived among Americans by becoming Americans. Handsome Lake’s people chose a rather different course. They borrowed from Quaker teachings and made a new Iroquois religion; they borrowed from American society to build a new, Iroquois way of life. They adopted American technology, farmed like their American neighbors, lived in log homes, worked in the market economy, and sent their children to school. But they did not stop being Haudenosaunee. They preserved beliefs and values, kinship ties, and customs, maintaining an unchanging core beneath the surface of change. Washington believed that Indians who adopted the new ways he offered them would, eventually, cease to be Indians. Instead, they took some of what he offered, kept what they could of their old ways, and created new ways to be who they were. Indian societies shuddered under the shock of assault, and then held.58

  George Washington, the campaigns he launched, and the policies he initiated had huge impacts on Native America. Washington’s vision of a nation built on Indian land was realized. But his vision of the future for Indian people was not. Instead of adopting Washington’s recipe for their survival, Indian people adapted it. Instead of changing and ceasing to be Indians, they changed and continued to be Indians. Instead of abandoning their traditions, cultures, and values, they built on their Native American past to give themselves an American future.

  atiatoharongwen, colonel louis cook, outlived Washington by fifteen years. He may not have lived to regret his relationship with Washington, but he lived to see the shortcomings of Washington’s promises and policies for Indian people. Even Indians who had fought for the United States and befriended the president could not receive the fair and honorable treatment Washington spoke so much about. In the spring of 1796 Cook and a delegation of chiefs from St. Regis (Akwesasne) and Kahnawake, representing the Seven Nations of Canada, traveled to New York City to negotiate with the state government for compensation for the loss of lands and signed a treaty extinguishing their claims to the lands. During the negotiations they repeated the position consistently taken by Indian people that non-Indian nations could not transfer to one another Indian lands that Indians had never given up. Invoking the law of nations in their own way, they “bid defiance to the world to produce any deed, or sale, or gift, or lease, of any of the lands in question, or any part of them, from us, to either the King of France or Britain, or to either [any] of the United States.” They had lived in peace, and their rights had been ignored: “It seems that, before a nation can get justice of another, they must first go to war, and spill one another’s blood,” but as a Christian people they hoped never to have to resort to such measures themselves.

  Brothers: We intreat you only to look back, and consider the privileges your brother Indians formerly enjoyed, before we were interrupted by other nations of white people, who feign themselves to us as brothers, and let justice take place betwixt you and us, in place of arbitrary power; for that, brothers, you very well know, is a thing that never gave contentment to any people or nation whatsoever.

  Brothers: Formerly we enjoyed the privilege we expect is now called freedom and liberty; but, since the acquaintance with our brother white people, that which we call freedom and liberty, becomes an entire stranger to us; and in place of that, comes in flattery and deceit, to deprive poor ignorant people of their properties, and bring them to poverty, and, at last, to become beggars and laughing stocks to the world.

  Rather than dwell on the past, they hoped for a better future, in which the white people “would do by us as you would wish to be done by.”

  Brothers, this is what we wish for: that every brother might have their rights, throughout this continent, and all be of one mind, and to live together in peace and love as becometh brothers; and to have a chain of friendship made between you and us, too strong ever to be broke, and polished and brightened so pure as never to rust.59

  The chiefs’ words echoed some of the rhetoric of Washington’s speeches, but their vision for America as a place of universal rights far exceeded his. For Louis Cook, a man of Native American and African American heritage who had served with Washington in the Revolution and worked with him in dealing with the western tribes, it was a vision that remained elusive. The expanding republic that Washington helped launch depended on Indians giving up their land and Africans giving up their labor; only white men enjoyed the rights Cook wished for.

  In a letter to the president, Oliver Wolcott Jr., who had replaced Hamilton as secretary of the treasury in 1795, emphasized something that Washington fully understood: “The power of making Treaties, is the same thing as the power of pledging the faith of one nation to another.”60 Yet despite his well-intentioned efforts to establish nation-to-nation relationships, Washington’s Indian policies eroded the Indian rights he claimed to protect and undermined the Indian sovereignty he claimed to respect. In the dark years to come, Indian sovereignty was submerged further still. But instead of disappearing into American society, Indian tribes remained within the American nation. Their sovereignty was never extinguished, and resurfaced with a more robust assertion of Native rights in the second half of the twentieth century.61 The nation-to-nations relationship between the federal government and Indian tribes today in some ways resembles that which Washington, in many of his writings and some of his policies, aspired to establish. But assaults on the rights and resources of Native peoples continue. It remains to be seen if the relationship can ever measure up to Louis Cook’s vision of a chain of friendship “too strong ever to be broke, and polished and brightened so pure as never to rust.”

  Abbreviations

  American Archives American Archives. Peter Force, comp. 4th ser., 6 vols., Washington, DC, 1837–46; 5th ser., 3 vols., Washington, DC, 1848–53.

  ASPIA American State Papers: Documents, Legislative and Executive, of the Congress of the United States, Class II: Indian Affairs. Walter Lowrie and Matthew St. Clair Clarke, eds. 2 vols. Washington, DC: Gales & Seaton, 1832–34.

  Bouquet Papers The Papers of Henry Bouquet. S. K. Stevens, Donald H. Kent, and Autumn L. Leonard, eds. 6 vols. Harrisburg: Pennsylvani
a Historical and Museum Commission, 1951–54.

  CVSP Calendar of Virginia State Papers. William P. Palmer, ed. 11 vols. Richmond: Virginia State Library, 1875–93.

  CO 5 Colonial Office Records, ser. 5, National Archives (formerly Public Record Office), Kew, England.

  CO 42 Colonial Office Records, ser. 42, National Archives, Kew, England.

  CRP Colonial Records of Pennsylvania. Samuel Hazard, ed. 16 vols. Harrisburg and Philadelphia: T. Fenn, 1838–53. Vols. 1–10: Minutes of the Provincial Council of Pennsylvania; vols. 11–16: Minutes of the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania.

  DAR Documents of the American Revolution, 1770–1783 (Colonial Office Series). K. G. Davies, ed. 21 vols. Shannon: Irish University Press, 1972–81.

  DHFFC Documentary History of the First Federal Congress, 1789–1791. Linda Grant De Pauw et al., eds. 22 vols. to date. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1972–.

  Diaries of GW The Diaries of George Washington. Donald Jackson and Dorothy Twohig, eds. 6 vols. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1976–79.

  Dinwiddie Papers The Official Records of Robert Dinwiddie, Lieutenant-Governor of the Colony of Virginia, 1751–1758. R. A. Brock, ed. 2 vols. Richmond: Virginia Historical Society, 1883–84.

  Draper Mss. Lyman Draper Manuscripts, Wisconsin State Historical Society. Microfilm copy at Baker Library, Dartmouth College.

  EAID Early American Indian Documents: Treaties and Laws, 1607–1789. Alden T. Vaughan, gen. ed. 20 vols. Bethesda, MD: University Publications of America, 1979–2004.

  Vol. 2: Pennsylvania Treaties, 1737–1756. Donald H. Kent, ed.

  Vol. 3: Pennsylvania Treaties, 1756-1775. Alison Duncan Hirsch, ed.

  Vol. 4: Virginia Treaties, 1607–1722. W. Stitt Robinson, ed.

  Vol. 5: Virginia Treaties, 1723–1775. W. Stitt Robinson, ed.

  Vol. 9: New York and New Jersey Treaties, 1714–1754. Barbara Graymont, ed.

  Vol. 13: North and South Carolina Treaties, 1654–1756. W. Stitt Robinson, ed.

  Vol. 15: Virginia and Maryland Laws. Alden T. Vaughan and Deborah A. Rosen, eds.

  Vol. 18: Revolution and Confederation. Colin G. Calloway, ed.

  Executive Journals Executive Journals of the Council of Colonial Virginia. R. McIlwaine et al., eds. 6 vols. Richmond: Virginia State Library, 1926–66.

  FO Foreign Office Records, National Archives, Kew, England.

  Forbes HQ Papers The Headquarters Papers of Brigadier-General John Forbes relating to the Expedition against Fort Duquesne in 1758. University of Virginia Library. Microfilm copy at the David Library of the American Revolution, Washington’s Crossing, Pennsylvania.

  GWPLC George Washington Papers at the Library of Congress, 1741–99. Manuscript Division, Library of Congress and online at memory.loc.gov

  Haldimand Papers Correspondence and Papers of Governor General Sir Frederick Haldimand, 1758–91. British Museum, London, Additional Manuscripts 21661–892.

  IALT Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties, vol. 2, Treaties. Charles J. Kappler, comp. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1904.

  JCC Journals of the Continental Congress. Washington C. Ford et al., eds. 34 vols. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1904–37.

  JHBV Journals of the House of Burgesses of Virginia. H. R. McIlwaine et al., eds. 12 vols. Richmond: Colonial Press, 1906–15.

  JPP The Journal of the Proceedings of the President, 1793–1797. Dorothy Twohig, ed. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 1981.

  Knox Papers Henry Knox Papers owned by the New England Historic Genealogical Society and deposited in the Massachusetts Historical Society. Microfilm copy at Baker Library, Dartmouth College. 55 reels.

  MPHC The Collections of the Michigan Pioneer and Historical Society. 40 vols. Lansing: Michigan State Historical Society, 1874–1929.

  NYCD Documents relating to the Colonial History of the State of New York. Edmund B. O’Callaghan et al., eds. 15 vols. Albany, NY: Weed, Parsons, 1853–57.

  NYPL New York Public Library.

  NYPL, GW New York Public Library, George Washington Papers.

  PCC Papers of the Continental Congress, 1774–89. National Archives, Washington, DC. Microfilm 247.

  PGW, Col. The Papers of George Washington: Colonial Series. W. W. Abbot, Dorothy Twohig, et al., eds. 10 vols. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1983–95.

  PGW, Confed. The Papers of George Washington: Confederation Series. W. W. Abbot et al., eds. 6 vols. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1992–97.

  PGW, Pres. The Papers of George Washington: Presidential Series. Dorothy Twohig et al., eds. 18 vols. to date. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 1987–.

  PGW, Ret. The Papers of George Washington: Retirement Series. W. W. Abbot et al., eds. 4 vols. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1998–99.

  PGW, Rev. The Papers of George Washington: Revolutionary War Series. W. W. Abbot et al., eds. 23 vols. to date. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 1985–.

  PTJ The Papers of Thomas Jefferson. Julian P. Boyd et al., eds. 42 vols. to date. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1950–.

  Pickering Papers Timothy Pickering Papers. Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston. Microfilm copy at Baker Library, Dartmouth College. 69 reels.

  Schuyler Papers Philip Schuyler Papers, Indian Papers, 1710–96, boxes 13–15, reel 7. New York Public Library.

  Simcoe Correspondence The Correspondence of Lieut. Governor John Graves Simcoe, with Allied Documents relating to His Administration of the Government of Upper Canada. Earnest A. Cruikshank, ed. 5 vols. Toronto: Ontario Historical Society, 1923–31.

  St. Clair Papers The St. Clair Papers: The Life and Public Services of Arthur St. Clair … with his Correspondence and Other Papers. William Henry Smith, ed. 2 vols. Cincinnati: Robert Clarke, 1881.

  Territorial Papers The Territorial Papers of the United States. Clarence Edwin Carter, ed. 28 vols. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1934–75.

  WJP The Papers of Sir William Johnson. James Sullivan et al., eds. 14 vols. Albany: University of the State of New York, 1921–65.

  Writings of Washington The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources, 1745–1799. John C. Fitzpatrick, ed. 39 vols. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1931–44.

  Notes

  Introduction

  1. JPP, 42–43; PTJ 25:112–18, 133.

  2. JPP, 49–50.

  3. Territorial Papers 4:307.

  4. JPP, 309–10.

  5. Territorial Papers 4:349–50; Writings of Washington 33:412, 418, 424; James Thomas Flexner, George Washington: Anguish and Farewell, 1793–1799 (Boston: Little, Brown, 1969), 157.

  6. ASPIA 1:54.

  7. Quote from Franklin B. Hough, ed., Proceedings of the Commissioners of Indian Affairs Appointed by Law for the Extinguishment of Indian Titles in the State of New York, 2 vols. (Albany, NY: Joel Munsell, 1861), 2:370.

  8. Kirkland quoted in Alan Taylor, The Divided Ground: Indians, Settlers, and the Northern Borderland of the American Revolution (New York: Knopf, 2006), 271.

  9. M. A. LaCombe, Political Gastronomy: Food and Authority in the English Atlantic World (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2012).

  10. Writings of Washington 35:146, 302n; John to Abigail Adams, Dec. 4, 1796, in C. James Taylor et al., eds., The Adams Papers: Adams Family Correspondence 11:430, http://rotunda.upress.virginia.edu/

  11. JPP, 11, 31.

  12. PGW, Pres. 13:72 (“momentous”).

  13. For example, Carol Berkin, A Sovereign People: The Crises of the 1790s and the Birth of American Nationalism (New York: Basic Books, 2017) explains the role of four crises—the Whiskey Rebellion, the Genet Affair, the XYZ Affair, and the Alien and Sedition Acts—in emerging American nationalism but does not mention the crisis generated by the Indian destruction of the American army in 1791.

  14. Rev. John Heckewelder, History, Manners
, and Customs of the Indian Nations Who Once Inhabited Pennsylvania and the Neighboring States (Philadelphia, 1876; New York: Arno Press, 1971), 150.

  15. Daniel H. Usner, “ ‘A Savage Feast They Made of It’: John Adams and the Paradoxical Origins of Federal Indian Policy,” Journal of the Early Republic 33 (2013): 607–42; David Andrew Nichols, Red Gentlemen and White Savages: Indians, Federalists, and the Search for Order on the American Frontier (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2008); Gregory Ablavsky, “The Savage Constitution,” Duke Law Journal 63 (2014): 999–1089; Gregory Ablavsky, “Beyond the Indian Commerce Clause,” Yale Law Journal 124 (2014–15): 1012–90; Leonard J. Sadosky, Revolutionary Negotiations: Indians, Empires, and Diplomats in the Founding of America (Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 2009); Paul Frymer, Building an American Empire: The Era of Territorial and Political Expansion (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2017), ch. 2.