written by Jamie, Anna, Adam and Zach of 4C
Why Were the Settlers and the Indians unable to share the Ohio Country?
The settlers and the Indians were unable to share the Ohio Country because of their differences.
One reason was because of their languages. The settlers spoke English and the Indians spoke Indian, so it was hard for them to communicate with each other.
The settlers were pushing the Indians out. The settlers were coming in constantly. There was such a big number of settlers that one group, either settlers or Indians, would have to go. Because both groups' cultures were so different one of them had to go. The different clothing, culture, colors in skin, different songs and dances, and different shelters made living together in peace difficult.
The Indians believed that land cannot be owned. All people should be able to live on it in peace, without ownership over the land.
On the other hand the settlers believed it should be owned. If people found it or could buy land, it was considered theirs.
The settlers and Indians had different believes in land too. Another difference to charge each other against.
Could the Indians take living with settlers or were they going to leave? Were they going to fight? No if they did they would they would have to side with someone, but who would side with them? They hadn't any weapons like the settlers. If they did fight they would surely loose. All of their people would be killed.
They both thought they should own the Ohio Country. Both could not agree.That is why the settlers and the Indians could not share the Ohio Country.
Tecumseh was an outstanding leader of the Shawnee, and the eastern American tribes. In the late 1700's and the early 1800's he worked to unite all the tribes into a single alliance that would defend Indian lands.Tecumseh means shooting star or meteor. Tecumseh was believed to been born in Ohio.
His father a Shawnee chief and two older brothers were killed in the battle of Point Pleasant in 1774. Tecumseh was a strong leader for the Shawnee Indians. He fought against the U.S. expansion into the Midwest in the nineteenth century. Tecumseh took part in the Battle of Fallen Timbers in which a coalition of tribes were defeated by the U.S. general "Mad Anthony Wayne."
After winning several battles and losing the Battle of Fallen Timbers, Tecumseh took his people up to the Northwest Territory. Tecumseh became known as a strong and gifted chief for the Shawnee. The white settlers were afraid of Tecumseh's strength as an Indian leader. His efforts of uniting the many tribes of Indians began to be successful. When Tecumseh was not gathering more supporters, he left his brothers at home in charge of the tribes. The tribes attacked and defeated. Tecumseh was finally killed in the war of 1812 leading his troops.
Name the three generals who led the armed forces against the Indians living in the Ohio country. What were the results of each General's attempt to conquer the Ohio Indians.
Ohio made many efforts to make the land safe for settling. Three specific generals were chosen to fight the Indians. They all met many challenges. Only one General was successful. These generals were Harmar, St. Clair, and Wayne. Harmar was the first General to fight the Indians. In 1790, General Harmar received orders to march against the Indians. The army left Ft. Washington in September. They followed what is now Reading Road. Harmar's army marched farther north. When they got to the villages there were no Indians. The Indians were waiting for the scouts. The warriors ambushed the men. The soldiers set the villages on fire hoping that the Indians would leave, but they didn't. Then the Indians fought hard, and the Indians won.
General St. Clair was the next one to fight the Indians. he got men from Ohio and Kentucky to fight against the Indians. St. Clair became so ill that he could hardly mount his horse. Some men left the army. The men became tired and cold, so they went to sleep. The Indians attacked the scouts at dawn. They had taken the scouts by surprise. The scouts fought with all of their strength. The Indians fired from all sides. The scouts had to retreat. The Indians had won again. Many families had lost their relatives.
The next general to fight was General Wayne. Wayne's nickname was "Mad Anthony Wayne." Everyone felt that Wayne could defeat the Indians. Wayne spent over a year training his scouts. In October, 1793, the war finally started. They used Ft. Jefferson for a supply base. Little Turtle was afraid that they couldn't defeat Wayne's scouts. They fought in the woods. They called it Fallen Timbers because all of the trees would fall, and there was a lot of branches and stuff like that on the ground. The Indians were overpowered by the scouts. The Indians had finally lost. Later, Little Turtle was given a lot of respect. Wayne died in 1796, at the age of 52. He was buried in Pennsylvania.
Because of General Wayne's efforts Ohio was safe for settlement.
Describe the growth of Ohio as a result of the defeat of the Indians.
When the Indians left Ohio grew because of 2 laws that were past. One was in 1785. It divided the land into squares of two sizes called townships and sections. Land sold for as little as one dollar an acre, but 640 acres was the smallest amount that could be bought. People who had enough money bought sections and then made a profit by selling smaller plots of land to settlers. The second law, the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, made a government for the Northwest Territory. The Ordinance stated that when it had 60,000 people, it could be a state. In 1803 Ohio became the first of five states formed from the Northwest Territory. The other states formed in the Northwest territory were Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. They were important laws that encouraged people to buy land and settle in Ohio. After the Ordinance of 1787, settlers landed at a spot on the north bank of the Ohio River that became Ohio.
Many people went back to their homes along the Ohio River and others bought land and moved into the forest to make homes. There was plenty of work for people who lived in Ohio because it was a new country.
After The Battle of Fallen Timbers most Indians were pushed out of the Ohio area. Soon after this Ohio grew. It was safer for men to go out and hunt. Now there was plenty of food for everyone. Sometimes they boiled the kernels of corn until the hard skin split open and fell off. The mothers sewed. Some of the children toys came from other parts of the corn. Little girls made their dolls out of corn husk. The boys loved to go hunting in the woods and get meat for the family. Kids helped build cabins. Even the little children gathered food for the winter.
People could not buy clothing in stores. The women and the older girls made the clothing for the family. How they made clothing was they raised sheep and then sheered the wool from the sheep. The women would wash the dirt from the wool. Then they would comb the fibers off the wool with large combs called cards. Now the fibers were ready to be spun into thread. Mothers and daughters worked hard to spin the thread into dresses, shirts, socks,etc. washing the clothing was not easy. Wherever they washed they all needed soap.
At first stores were like trading posts. The pioneers had very little money so they used animal skins to trade for the things they wanted. It is very hard to make change without small coins.
In the winter the schools had been cold, so the older the boys chopped wood for the fire place. The windows were covered with a piece of greased paper, just as the windows in the cabins were. There was a pail of water in the back of the room. When a child was thirsty, he went to the back of the room and drank water with a dipper. Parents were proud of the work that was done in school.
Kids loved to play games just like we do today. The little girls loved dolls. They would have been so surprised to see dolls that walk or dolls that where high heels. The father or the older brother carved the dolls for the little girls. Almost all the boys had a Knife. He was expected to help his father carve things the family needed, but he also got a lot of enjoyment whittling or carving things. The boys who lived in Cincinnati loved marbles just as much as boys do know. Some times boys found smooth stones along the river side or they would make their own out of clay that could harden. They may have looked different from the ones we have know, but the game marbles was played the same.
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Mark Richardson, Technology Facilitator |
| 02/26/99 | richard1@ih.k12.oh.us |
