Henry Knox, the
Secretary of War, and George Washington, write the first Indian
Non-Intercourse Act. This act formally established the
exclusive relationship between federal government and the tribes,
including federal control over bargaining in Indian lands (the same
right claimed by King George III twenty-seven years earlier, a
claim that contributed significantly to instigating the War of
Independence). (click here for more on the non-intercourse
act)
This, combined with the Northwest
Ordinance of 1787 committed the central government to protecting
Indian lands, a policy that was undone and destroyed by Thomas
Jefferson's compact with Georgia, in 1802, and Andrew Jackson's
removal policy a generation later.
- Jan. 20 - Congress asks Alexander Hamilton to come up with a
general plan for the disposition of the public domain…he produced a
report in July of that year.
- Delaware, Shawnees, and their Ottawa allies rout General
Harmar's force near present day Fort Wayne, Indiana.
click here for more
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