Confederation and the Spanish Presence in Florida

By: Emma, Evan, Dean and Nik

Thesis

Obstruction to American westward expansion, concomitant with the “second War of Independence,” was inherent in Tecumseh’s revitalization of the pan-Indian alliance within the Mississippi Valley, Tenskwatawa’s disestablishment of white culture and assimilation, and the anarchy rooted in Spanish Florida.

Reasons For ExpansionThe primary reason for westward expansion as pursued by the Jefferson and Madison administrations was their opposition to Hamilton’s perception of capitalism.

● Jefferson believed that Hamilton’s financial plan would lead to the emergence of a corrupt class of commercial capitalists

● Jefferson believed that a westward presence would establish “a republic of independent farmers marketing … freely to the entire world,” free trade being Jefferson’s idea of true capitalism

● Madison presidency inherited Jefferson’s aims of western purchase o Federal government encouraged local traders to inundate Indians with debts so

they would be forced to sell their land and move west of the Mississippi river o Removal and transplantation of Indians conflicted somewhat with the

Washingtonian objective of drawing Indians into white civilization o Jefferson & Washington efforts were concurrent prior to the War of 1812

Neolin’s Doctrine● The doctrine of Neolin, a Delawarean native and religious

prophet, first came to Indian consciousness in 1763● Neolin’s conviction was that native people must sever any

commercial ties with the British in order to preserve their culture and counter absorption

● Neolin further set forth the idea of Pan-Indian Identity:o “All Indians… were a single people, and only through

cooperation could they regain their lost independence.”o Effectively propagated the idea that a single and universal

spiritual identity transcended all tribal lines

Tecumseh and Confederation● Shawnee chief Tecumseh was prominent in his rejection of the Treaty of Greenville

in 1795● Tecumseh espoused Neolin’s ideas of Pan-Indian Identity and effectively revitalized

it in the Mississippi River Valley:o “The way, and the only way, to check and to stop this evil, is for all the Redmen

to unite in claiming a common and equal right in the land, as it was first and should be yet…”

o Indians in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana territory readily accepted Tecumseh’s adoption of Neolin’s doctrine due to the influx of white settlers and wide encroachment

o Indians in present day Tennessee, Georgia and Mississippi largely rejected Tecumseh’s attempts at alliance due to the degree of their voluntary assimilation; believed that their autonomy could be protected without the total repudiation of beneficial white culture

o Tecumseh founded the Ohio Valley Confederacy by 1810, successfully delaying further white settlement in the region

Tenskwatawa and Confederation● Tenskwatawa purported himself to be a divinely guided religious

prophet● Propagated the idea that “white people… were the source of all

evil in the world”● Tenskwatawa’s Neolin-like doctrine left particularly the Creeks

(present-day Georgia, Alabama, northern Florida) in factions:o Multiple members of the tribe retained willingness to “adopt

the civilization of the white man in order to live in peace”o Remaining factions “insisted on their land and culture” and

supported Tenskwatawa’s doctrine and inherently the Ohio Valley Confederacy These were known as the Red Sticks

Effect of Spanish Presence ● Spain had negotiated peace treaty with Britain prior to the War of 1812● Spanish had small but imperial presence in the Florida peninsula, based in St.

Augustine ● Largely self-governing Seminole tribes settled Florida, enjoyed extensive trade with

both Spain and Britain ● Meanwhile, Madison administration seeks to absorb Florida into United States

territory ● Madison administration perceives autonomy of Seminole as “anarchy,” which would

legitimize the American surge into Florida o Madison claimed that American occupation was necessary to protect from

anarchyo Mainly sought to weaken British foothold

American settlement of Florida threatened to dismantle Seminole trade networks● Series of sieges between American and Seminole forces ensues in peninsula

Involvement in the War of 1812● Tecumseh’s Ohio Confederacy and Red Sticks inherently aid British● Red Sticks continually orchestrate massacre of American troops under Andrew

Jackson● Jackson employs Creeks opposed to Tenskwatawa as well as Cherokees, promises

them property if they seize that of Red Stickso These natives would ultimately win the war for Jackson, having been promised

governmental friendship if they aided his efforts ● Jackson subsequently seized not only seized property of opposing Creeks but also

property of Natives that fought with him; “secured southwestern prosperity”o However, Jackson set forth a proposal in 1814 that granted Indians individual

ownership of land, which broke up the cultural tradition of communal landholding

o “splitting Indian from Indian … bribing some with land, leaving others out – introducing the competition and conniving that marketed the spirit of Western capitalism. It fitted well the old Jeffersonian idea”

However, territorial pursuit of Florida was unsuccessful - American occupation of Spanish Florida disappeared in 1814 when Seminoles collapsed all American settlements in the peninsula

Culmination of the War of 1812

Westward expansion at the end of the Second War of Independence was successful:● “the conquest of the area east of the Mississippi River, which had

begun during the Revolution, [was completed]. Never again would the British or Indians pose a threat to American control of this vast region. The war also broke the remaining power of Indians … In its aftermath, white settlers poured into [the Valley]”

● With the “republic of independent farmers” now established, Jefferson’s idea of capitalism was institutedo Hamilton’s theoretical capitalist system collapsedo Federalist party dissolved

References● http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Tecumseh's_Confederation?rec=637 ● http://socialistworker.org/2010/06/24/tecumseh-and-indian-resistance ● http://www.southernhistory.us/Counties/c4alac2.htm● http://www.jaxhistory.com/journal6.html● http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/chief-tecumseh-urges-indians-to-

unite-against-whites● Give Me Liberty, Eric Foner● A People’s History of the United States, Howard Zinn● The New History of Florida, Brent R. Weisman & John K. Mahon