Quotations - 1700’s

1787 Thomas Jefferson quote on Northwest Ordinance p. 211

The utmost of good faith shall always be observed toward the Indians; their land and property shall never be taken away from them without their consent; and their property, rights and liberty shall never be invaded by Congress; but laws founded in justice and humanity shall from time to time be made for preventing wrongs to them, and for preserving peace and friendship with them.

1789 Thomas Jefferson quote p. 212

It may be regarded as certain that not a foot of land will ever be taken from the Indians without their own consent. The sacredness of their right is felt by all thinking persons in America as much as in Europe.

1779 George Rogers Clark Background p. 205

George Rogers Clark waged war in the Old Northwest and discovered the great temple mound city at Cahokia. The older brother of William Clark (of the Lewis and Clark expedition), he led a force of Virginians into the lands of the Old Northwest and accepted the surrender of the British commander at Fort Vincennes. He was also the first to report on the existence of Cahokia, the great temple mound city at the confluence of the Missouri and the Mississippi Rivers in Illinois.

1795 The Greenville Treaty of Peace p. 217

The Greenville Treaty of Peace signed by 1,100 chiefs of the western confederated tribes. The seven-foot long document was signed by the chiefs . . . After the Battle of Fallen Timbers and the British agreement to withdraw from their forts, General Anthony Wayne imposed the treaty on all the tribes of the region. It extinguished Indian title to lands representing two-thirds of present-day Ohio . . . . The treaty also fixed a firm boundary line between Indian lands and white settlements. Acting under orders from the War Department, Wayne insisted that all 1,100 chiefs individually sign the peace treaty, which was written on parchment seven feet long and three feet wide. The allied tribes gave up lands, and in return were promised a firm boundary between Indian territories and the U.S. The treaty also stipulated that lands could be ceded only by tribes as a whole, and not individually, and that they had a right to all remaining lands not specifically ceded to white settlers. Acting on Jefferson’s orders, the new Northwest Territory governor, William Henry Harrison, violated the treaty almost immediately.

Nies, Judith. 1996. Native American History. New York, New York: Ballantine Books.

The Social Studies Center Collaborators: Patti Besick, Mary Alice Lindvall, Sue Zerafa Created: 09/13/98 Modified: 05/24/00 School District 54, Schaumburg, Illinois http://web54.sd54.k12.il.us/district54/socst/illinois/studrespg/quotes.htm