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Reviews
| Mr. Jefferson's Hammer: William Henry Harrison and the Origins of American Indian Policy, by Robert M. Owens. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 2007. 344 pages. $34.95, cloth.
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| William Henry Harrison is remembered as the president who died after thirty-one days in office. Mr. Jefferson's Hammer presents a detailed political and cultural biography of Harrison's life, and his influence on Indian policy in the Old Northwest. Robert M. Owens, professor of history at Wichita State University, Kansas, presents a well-researched and timely work. Utilizing the collection of documents catalogued by the Indiana Historical Society, Owens threads together a narrative that traces Harrison's policies in the early 1800s. The author's thesis states that "the decisions Harrison and his contemporaries—allies and opponents—made in the decade prior to 1812 had a profound impact on the history of the Midwest and laid the groundwork for American expansion into the Far West as well. To this day we live with the echoes of Harrison's proclamations, the boundaries of his treaties, and the ramifications of his actions" (p. xvi). Owens' book presents the impact of these decisions through the narrative of Harrison's life. |
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The author begins with the post-Revolutionary War generation that included Harrison and his peers. Harrison accompanied Anthony Wayne as his aide-de-camp on the Fallen Timbers campaign in 1792. The negotiations Wayne conducted with the defeated Indians emerged as a template for future councils presided over by Harrison. Wayne's treaties used land cessions by tribes that did not inhabit these areas, a technique that Harrison would employ during his years of public service in Indiana. It was during these years in Indiana that Harrison's greatest impact on American history were felt. |
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In 1800, Harrison was nominated by President Adams as governor of Indiana with the attached role as U.S. commissioner plenipotentiary to Indian tribes north of the Ohio River. Under Jefferson's administration, Harrison was encouraged to gain American title to native land through numerous means. The Treaty of Vincennes in 1802 was one of Harrison's earliest conducted treaties, using high pressure tactics to gain land cessions of areas from the tribes. The Louisiana Purchase intensified the need for more land, and Harrison received President Jefferson's tacit approval to continue extinguishing Indian land titles. The adoption of an Anglo-American lifestyle was one goal of these treaties, and also a barrier of protection against the supposed British threat in the West. |
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Harrison's and Tecumseh's conflicts are chronicled in this book, with the socio-cultural changes that initiated the Pan-Indian movement. The growing fear of the British became aligned with the Indians, always suspect of ulterior motives since the Revolutionary War. Tecumseh's death at the Battle of Thames in 1813 crushed this movement, and opened the rest of Indiana Territory to settlement. By the end of Harrison's tenure as governor and Treaty Commission, almost 30 million acres of Indian lands were ceded to the United States. |
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Mr. Jefferson's Hammer would make an excellent textbook for a variety of college level classes. Courses that specialize in American history, Native American studies, and political science would benefit from the detailed information expounded in this volume. Advanced Placement classes in high school could also utilize this text in a United States history class, to comprehend the complex relationships between land tenure, to explore Anglo-native relationships, and to analyze the background of one of the lesser-known presidents. Mr. Jefferson's Hammer would provide a useful resource for instructors of these courses, including the excellent set of maps provided by the author at the beginning of the text. The influence of Harrison's Virginian ancestry is traced throughout the book, and provides a good connection between the Revolutionary War period and pre-Civil War federal policies. As a socio-cultural biography, it would be a welcome addition to required reading lists in multiple areas of study that included these topics. |
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Mr. Jefferson's Hammer is a detailed analysis of Harrison's life and his influence in the expansion of American land holdings at the expense of the Native Americans. The policies of treaty cessions and displacement of valid Indian land tenure expanded the western borders of Harrison's America. Robert Owens conducted extensive research with primary sources to draw out this story, with careful examination of Harrison's letters and records. It is well documented and allows the reader to examine unknown events in American history. The most intriguing was Jefferson's secret letter to Harrison, which influenced Harrison's perspective on American-Indian relationships. This book makes a good addition to any educator interested in early nineteenth-century America and Native American history. |
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| University of California, Riverside |
Susan Sanchez-Barnett |
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