American Revolution: The Indians’ War of Independence By Colin G. Calloway, The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, adapted b y Newsela staff on 11.03.16 Word Count 810 Level 1060L

TOP: An oil painting titled "Herkimer at the Battle of Oriskany." Courtesy of Wikipedia. MIDDLE: King George III's Proclamation of 1763, (Gilder Lehrman Collection). BOTTOM: Map of Iroquois Six Nations. Courtesy of Wikipedia.

The Declaration of Independence—the founding document of the United States— clearly describes the role of American Indians in the American Revolution.

It says that the American Indians were on the wrong side of the struggle for liberty from the very beginning of the Revolution. While the Americans fought for their rights and freedoms, the Native Americans fought against them as allies of the British. This was the view of the nation's founding fathers, including Thomas Jefferson.

In the late 1700s, most Indians tried to stay neutral in the American Revolution. Even when most of them eventually sided with the British, they were not fighting against freedom. Like the American patriots, they were fighting to defend their

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 1 own freedom. In their eyes, Americans posed a greater threat to their land, their liberty and their way of life than did the faraway British king. The American War of Independence was an Indian war for independence as well.

This was not the first time Indians had waged a war of independence. In 1763, fresh from their triumphs in the French and Indian War, the British were behaving like conquerors in Indian country.

In response, chiefs from various Indian tribes launched attacks on British forts. The colonial government in London responded by declaring the Appalachian Mountains the boundary between British settlement and Indian lands. This initiated a chain of events that culminated in a revolution and independence.

When the Revolution broke out, Indian people knew their land was at stake. In 1776, Cherokees seized the outbreak of the Revolution as an occasion to drive trespassers off their lands by attacking frontier settlements. American forces immediately retaliated, burning Cherokee towns. Cherokee chiefs were forced to seek peace by giving even more of their land to the Americans.

In 1779, George Washington sent General John Sullivan to conduct a scorched- earth campaign in Iroquois country. Sullivan’s troops burned 40 Iroquois towns, cut down orchards and destroyed millions of bushels of corn. Without shelter or food, thousands of Iroquois people fled to the British fort at Niagara. There, the refugees endured starvation, sickness and misery during one of the coldest winters ever.

At the end of war, many Iroquois relocated north of the new border into Canada rather than stay and fight with the Americans. Formerly masters of the region, they now struggled to survive in a new world dominated by Americans.

Meanwhile, the revolution turned the Ohio Valley into a fiercely contested war zone. The British and the Americans competed for the allegiance of the tribes. Most tribes tried to remain neutral, but neutrality was not a viable option.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 2 Like their Shawnee neighbors, the Delaware Indians were initially reluctant to support the British. In fact, the Delaware chief, White Eyes, led his people in making the Treaty of Fort Pitt in 1778, the first Indian treaty made by the new nation. But after American soldiers murdered White Eyes, the Delawares soon decided to help the British.

In the East, the fighting between the British and the American rebels effectively ended in 1781 after the British surrendered to Washington's army. By April 1783, Britain recognized the independence of the United States at the Peace of Paris. This agreement transferred British claims of territory to the United States.

There were no American Indians at the Peace of Paris and Indians were not mentioned in its terms. They were furious when they learned that their British allies had given away their lands.

Although the founding fathers struggled with how to deal honorably with Indian people, taking Indian land was never in doubt. After the long war against Britain, the United States government had no money. Its only wealth was the land the British had ceded at the Peace of Paris—Indian land. The government needed to sell that land to American settlers to help raise the money vital to the new country's future.

How could Americans claim to deal honorably with Indian peoples at the same time as they built their nation on Indian lands? The Declaration of Independence provided some justifications. It said that Indians had fought against American rights and freedoms, so they could not expect to share those rights and freedoms. The United States must and would take the Indians’ land. In return, the government would give these "savages" civilization, and that was honorable enough.

For Native Americans, this translated into a dual assault on their lands and cultures. Indians fought back, but eventually turned to smaller forms of resistance. Meanwhile, they tried to preserve what they could of Indian life and culture in a nation that was intent on destroying both.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 3 Colin G. Calloway is professor of history and professor of Native American studies at Dartmouth College.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 4 Quiz

1 Which two of the following sentences from the article include central ideas of the article?

1. In their eyes, Americans posed a greater threat to their land, their liberty and their way of life than did the faraway British king. 2. The colonial government in London responded by declaring the Appalachian Mountains the boundary between British settlement and Indian lands. 3. By April 1783, Britain recognized the independence of the United States at the Peace of Paris. 4. The government needed to sell that land to American settlers to help raise the money vital to the new country's future.

(A) 1 and 2

(B) 2 and 3

(C) 1 and 4

(D) 2 and 4

2 Which detail would be MOST important to include in a summary of the article?

(A) In 1779, Washington sent General Sullivan to destroy land in Iroquois country.

(B) The Delaware chief, White Eyes, made the Treaty of Fort Pitt with the Americans in 1778.

(C) The British declared the Appalachian Mountains the border between British settlement and Indian lands.

(D) Thomas Jefferson believed that the Native Americans fought against rights and freedoms when they sided with the British.

3 What is the MOST important reason why the United States government sold off Native American land?

(A) The British gave them the land at the Peace of Paris.

(B) The country needed money after the costly war.

(C) The Americans did not value Native American culture.

(D) The Declaration of Independence said it was justified.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 5 4 Which of the following answer choices would BEST describe the Delaware Indians' reaction to the death of White Eyes?

(A) It caused them to support the British in the war.

(B) It caused them to fight against the British.

(C) It caused them to fight to hold the Ohio Valley.

(D) It caused them to remain neutral in the war.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 6