68 Magazine of History

The Gods of Prophetstown The and the Holy War for the American Frontier By Adam Jortner (New York: Oxford University Press, 2011. Pp. x, 310. Illustrations, notes, bibliography, index. $27.95.)

Despite a growing body of scholarly which, he argues, is “very nearly work challenging long-held assump- hardwired into the historiography of tions about the significance of Proph- America” (p. 218). Jortner offers an- etstown and the Battle of Tippecanoe, other framework of analysis: Harrison the role of the religious and were both engaged leader, Tenskwatawa, continues to in a religious war, “the Great Spirit be overshadowed by accounts of his against providence—with the very brother . Adam Jortner’s expanse of the frontier, a holy land, study directly challenges the histo- as the prize” (p. 11). riography that places Tecumseh “as The author consistently balances the backbone of Indian resistance the study of opposing leadership, and Tenskwatawa as merely a front” beliefs, and methods by which both (p. 179). In a thoroughly documented Tenskwatawa and Harrison furthered analysis of the rise of the Shawnee their competing visions of the terri- ’s religious movement, Jort- tory that became Indiana. He traces ner effectively argues not only that the legacy of both leaders, emphasiz- the Prophet was the most significant ing the ideological forces and tempo- political leader in the Old Northwest ral circumstances that shaped them. Territory after the Treaty of Green- Jortner is at his best in his nuanced ville in 1795, but that the outcome readings of the spiritual and politi- of the Battle of Tippecanoe further cal worldviews widely held by early enhanced his spiritual authority with Americans. He carefully situates the his followers. unfolding of events in a landscape Jortner’s approach is refreshing. shared by Indians and settlers alike: He asks his audience to set aside the harsh winters caused depravations insidious and enduring notion that for all, the embargo against British Tenskwatawa’s religion, his visions, imports created anxiety for everyone, and his entire pan-Indian movement and both groups lived in a place where were a scam, and that the man was lawlessness prevailed, strongmen rose nothing but a charlatan and fake. He to power, and violence was the norm. traces this devaluation of the Proph- Perhaps one of the most innovative et’s spiritual and political power to and welcome aspects of Jortner’s study the lingering idea of the inevitability is his focus on the role of women in of Indian defeat in the Old Northwest Tenskwatawa’s new pan-Indian Con- Territory. Jortner’s analysis challenges federacy. Few studies of the machina- the prevailing declension model tions of early American expansion, Reviews 69

especially the events leading up to the from those who hold dear to the as- , shed light on the impor- sumptions about the inevitability of tance of women as political agents. Native American dispossession and One of Jortner’s most intriguing stories the success of American nationalism. involves a Delaware prophetess, Beata, His work is important and fits neatly “an apostle” of the Prophet (p. 110). into a growing body of scholarship The author suggests that the Prophet that may eventually dislodge those articulated inconsistent religious laws calcified notions. regarding women and increasingly limited their role within newly formed Dawn G. Marsh is Assistant Professor communities. His work suggests room of History at Purdue University. Her for more study here. forthcoming book, Hannah Freeman: The Gods of Prophetstown contains , Neighbor, Colonized, Betrayed few faults, however, Jortner’s analysis is under contract with the University will undoubtedly face challenges of Nebraska Press.

Illinois in the War of 1812 By Gillum Ferguson (Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2012. Pp. xiii, 352. Illustrations, notes, bibliography, index. $34.95.)

Illinois in the War of 1812 opens with American Indians was the necessary a vivid portrait of the Illinois prairie and inevitable choice of heroic settlers on the eve of war, a landscape beauti- who acted not out of self-interest, but ful and foreboding, accessible only to rather, out of longing for the Ameri- the most adventurous and determined can dream. American settlers. Each subsequent Scholars of American Indian his- chapter describes in rousing detail tory will have difficulty accepting Illinois battles and the remarkable Ferguson’s assertion that since most men behind them. Unfortunately, of the Indians in Illinois were new- Gillum Ferguson’s partisan retelling comers, white American settlers had of events gives readers a foggy pic- equal claim to the land. His statement ture of American Indian history. In that tribes like the Piankashaw and this narrative, settlers push westward the Kaskaskia had claimed “more without government aid and battle land than they could possibly use frequently drunken Indians to build a or defend” is equally troubling (p. territory worthy of becoming a state. 17). Ferguson’s omission of how Ferguson argues that the War of 1812 American disregard for the Treaty was crucial to Illinois statehood. Just of Greenville forced Indian peoples as striking, however, is Ferguson’s westward, threatened their remaining secondary thesis that the genocide of land base, and depleted their food