Pan-indian Confederation - Essay Example

Pan-Indian Confederation Tecumseh’s war for retaining the identity of his tribes, after the Treaty of Greenville, marked an era of great significancein the history America. Even though Tecumseh tried his level best, by following planned strategies and his excellent oratory skills, his efforts went in vain against the U.S. army lead by Indiana Governor William Harry Harrison. Tecumseh’s younger brother’s Tenskwatawa’s premature act had surely been the prime reason of defeat.

But an analysis of the series of events following the signing of the Treaty of Greenville and strategies of the U.S. military forces seems to be favouring the U.S sides anyways. When Tecumseh set out to convince other tribes to join him, the challenge before him was not just creating an army, but arousing among the tribal people the sense of unity that might have led them to victory. Before convincing the tribes to fight for the sake of their identity and existence, he had to settle the inter-tribal conflicts and ideological differences among his own people and bind them together with a strong unifying force.

Tecumseh’s efforts were showing results to quite an extent until Tenskwatava’s negligence towards his brother’s strategies led them nowhere. Amidst, all this while he was away in the south spreading a doctrine of political and military unification, his younger brother’s excitation ruined everything. Tecumseh’s army was thrashed by Harrison’s men. The British who supported the tribes had their own vested interests of acquiring colonial wealth, they joined in more for their own motives and less in support of the Indians.

They fled as soon as the U.S. Army came into action. During the American Revolution U.S. had developed such a standard of political and military strengths that it was naive of Tecumseh’s one-man army challenging them without planning an effective winning strategy. This is another reason why the U.S. army found no difficulties in suppressing the upheaval. All these factors combined together were the reasons behind the defeat. Lack of unity, arms, forces and above all the lack of spirit among the people itself can be accused of defeat.

Tecumseh’s speeches motivated the people, his oration influenced people from vast stretches in Canada to Mexico but ultimately it was the call from within among the tribes that might have made a difference and lacking this spirit the ball was never in Tecumseh’s court.BibliographySeptember 28, 20111) Gregory Evans Dowd, A Spirited Resistance: The North American Indian Struggle For Unity, 1745-18152) Howard Zinn, Kethy Emery, and Ellen Reeves, A People’s History of the United States (The New Press 2003)3) “Tecumseh” , New World Encyclopedia online