Under the auspices of peace : The Northwest Indian War and its Impact on the Early American Republic

Abstract

This paper examines the influence of the Northwest Indian War on the development of the early United States republic. In the years between the end of the Revolutionary War in 1783 and the establishment of a new federal government in 1789, the United States frontier was plagued by rivalry between citizens and Native Americans. The United States federal government viewed the success and progress of the nation as contingent upon possession of the Northwest Territory, and as such developed and adjusted their Indian policies to induce the Indians to peacefully accept United States authority in the Northwest Territory. The violence that erupted out of the deterioration of these attempts resulted in demands by citizens to quell the aggressive Indians in the early years of George Washington\u27s presidency, which consequently invited reforms that ultimately strengthened the federal government\u27s power