William Henry Harrison's Indiana: Paternalism and Patriotism on the Frontier, 1795--1812
I argue that Americans prior to the War of 1812 maintained practially the same ideology that had driven them through the Revolution, i.e., a tendency to attribute all social or political ills to British influence. The Declaration of Independence had blamed George III for slavery, Indian wars, and political corruption, and the next generation of Americans continued to do so. While previous authors have correctly attributed much of this attitude to President Thomas Jefferson and other national leaders, key figures on the frontier, like Indiana Governor William Henry Harrison, have received less credit for their impact on these issues. Governor Harrison, his free citizenry, and those excluded from politics---blacks, women, and Indians, all shared in creating the American West.
University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign