The Indian Frontier, 1763-1846 (Histories of the American Frontier)

By: R. Douglas Hurt

Narrated by: Fred Filbrich

This synthesis of Indian-white relations west of the Appalachians from the end of the French and Indian War to the beginning of the Mexican War is not simply a story of whites versus Indians. The term "whites" encompassed British, Spanish, and American settlers and governments, and the hundreds of Indian tribes who opposed them were no more unified than their European colonizers. The author focuses on relations among the British, the Spanish, the Americans, and Indian tribes in territories claimed by more than one of these groups, with particular emphasis on Indian tribes' pursuit of trade, peace, and guarantees of their land. Self-interest motivated all the players in these complex interactions, and when irreconcilable differences inevitably resulted these were settled by force.

The broad chronological and geographical scope of this volume encompasses British efforts to enforce new settlement policies after their defeat of the French, the Spanish system of missions and presidios, trade in the Columbia River basin of the Pacific Northwest, the Indian Removal Act and the Trail of Tears, and the establishment of a strong military presence to defend the trade routes of the Great Plains. The author's clear explanations of complex negotiations over trade, land, and policy among countless conflicting groups during a period of transition will be invaluable for students and for the interested general listener.

©2002 University of New Mexico Press (P)2015 Redwood Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"One of the best history books of the year." (Library Journal)

"Hurt has done an admirable job of synthesizing the complex history of Indian versus non-Indian in the US." (Book News, Inc.)

"Hurt's masterfully written synthesis should appeal to the general reader . . and prove invaluable to students and specialists in the field."(The Historian)

well organized overview

This offers a level-headed look at white - Indian relations in the period covered. Spanish, french, British, and Americans all brought different "cultural codes" with them when dealing with people outside their culture. And Americans come out looking the worst. They broke treaties almost as soon as written in their effort to acquire land. As L P Hartley astutely noted in his novel "The Go-Between," "the past is a foreign land," and, hopefully, much of the past cultures' codes have been superseded. If I remember correctly, a troop of Texas Rangers surprise a Comanche village and kill all 130 inhabitants. One Ranger talked about exterminating the "red niggers." Some of this book could inflame the sensibilities of the politically correct.
But as Hurt points out in his epilogue, no group comes out smelling sweet. Indian tribes fought another, often ruthlessly, and whites were happy to play one tribe against another and encourage horse thieving tribes to raid other locations. Hurt relates these incidents, and others, in a matter of fact way, not making moral judgments about groups that followed the cultural/moral codes of their society. Andrew Jackson does not get vilified for his Indian policies as he usually does. I do think that Hurt does pit some blame on Amherst for spreading smallpox blankets. Actually William Trent and Simeon Ecuyer at Fort Pitt passed out the two blankets and one handkerchief before Amherst's not was delivered to the relieving column. And no mention is made of the Indians massacring the soldiers in western forts which forced Amherst's hand combat a foe that would not fight an army. But Hurt basically refrains from moral judgments while doing an excellent job of organizing and relaying the facts.