A History of the American People

ripped the wound open and caused massive bleeding from which he nearly died and which
recurred occasionally all the rest of his life. On top of these hideous scars and bits of metal in his
anatomy, Jackson had endemic malaria compounded by dysentery, contracted on campaign. For
the first, and for his aching wounds, he took sugar of lead, both externally and internally-a
horrifyingly drastic remedy-and for the second, huge doses of calomel which rotted his teeth.
Jackson met these misfortunes with stoicism, even heroism. He anticipated the hemorrhages by
opening a vein; he would lay bare his arm, bandage it, take his penknife from his pocket, call a servant to hold the bowl and bleed himself freely.’ His acceptance of pain deepened his resolution but left further scars on his psyche and intensified his rages. His unforgettably fierce but frail figure thus became an embodiment of angry will, working for America's grand but ruthless purposes. The first to reel before the impact of Jackson's bitterness were the Indians. Most people in the West and South wanted war because it wouldsolve the Indian problem.' The new republic was
ambivalent about Indians. The Constitution ignored them, saying only that Congress had the
power to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes.' Henry Knox, in charge of Indian affairs (as war secretary) in the provisional government and then in Washington's administration, had got Congress in 1786 to pass an ordinance which cut Indian country in two at the Ohio River. North of the Ohio and west of the Hudson was the Northern District; south of the Ohio and east of the Mississippi was the Southern District. Each was under a superintendent who felt some responsibility for his charges, as the British had done. But whereas the crown treated the Indians assubjects,' just like the whites (or
blacks), the Americans could not regard them as 'citizens'-they were 'savages.’
However, it was one thing to divide the Indians on maps; quite another to get them to do what
the government wanted. In the years after the Revolutionary War, the Indians often attacked
advancing settlers with success, and efforts by the republic's young and tiny army were liable to
end in abject failure. When Washington took over as president, there were only l00-odd regulars
of all ranks, and the Creeks alone had between 3,500 and 6,000 warriors. In October 1790 the
Indians repulsed General Josiah Harmar's army when it invaded western Ohio; they almost
destroyed General Arthur St Clair's force in 1791 near what is now Fort Wayne, Indiana, killing
half the 1,400 regulars and militia and sending the rest fleeing in panic. At the Battle of Fallen
Timbers, August 20, 1794, Anthony Wayne and his mounted Kentucky Riflemen did something
to redress the balance in a vicious engagement which lasted only forty minutes but forced the
Shawnees and other tribes to sign the Treaty of Greenville (1795). But outright conquest was
never an option. The Indians had to be subdued by treaties, promises, deception, attrition,
disease, and alcohol.
The prevailing American view was that the Indians must assimilate or move west. This was a
constitutional rather than a racist viewpoint. The United States was organized into parishes,
townships, counties, and states. The Indians were organized not geographically but tribally. So
organized, they lived in pursuit of game. But the game was gone, or going. They therefore had to
detribalize themselves and fit into the American system. If they chose to do so, they could be
provided with land (640 acres a family was a figure bandied about) and US citizenship. This was,
in fact, the option countless Indians chose. Many settled, took European-type names, and, as it
were, vanished into the growing mass of ordinary Americans. In any case there was no clear
dividing line between `redskins' and whites. There were scores of thousands of half-breeds, some
of whom identified with the whites, and others who remained tribal. The bulk of the pure-bred