The Treaty of Vincennes is the name of two separate treaties. One was an agreement between the United States of America and the
Miami and their allies, the
Wea tribes and the
Shawnee, and was signed on June 6, 1803. The purpose of the treaty was to get the native tribes to formally recognize the American ownership of the Vincennes Tract, a parcel of land captured from
Great Britain during the
American Revolutionary War. The second occurred on August 27, 1804 and was to purchase land from the tribes.
Treaty of 1803
The United States was represented by
William Henry Harrison, the Governor of the
Indiana Territory. Harrison had been granted authority to settle the American claim to the Vincennes tract by President
Thomas Jefferson. The Vincennes tract had been purchased by the
Kingdom of France from the
Piankeshaw, a Wea tribe, around 1740. The tract was ceded to
Great Britain as part of the peace settlement after the
French and Indian War.
George Rogers Clark
George Rogers Clark (November 19, 1752 – February 13, 1818) was an American surveyor, soldier, and militia officer from Virginia who became the highest-ranking American patriot military officer on the northwestern frontier during the Ame ...
captured the territory from the British in the
American Revolutionary War, and the United States claimed the tract by right of conquest. In 1802, the government surveyor Thomas Freeman, began a survey of the land, called "Freeman's Lines and Corners". The survey led to objections from some of the native tribes as to the exact boundaries, and extent of the tract. Jefferson decided the best solution would be open talks with the tribes and compensate them for their claims on the land.
[Woodfill]
The Vincennes tract was a parcel of land that lay rectangular across the
Wabash River. The majority of the land lay on the east bank, but a small parcel was also included along the west bank. The fortified town of
Vincennes, an old French trading post, was the primary settlement in the area. In total, the tract contained about of land.
[ The negotiations were successful and in exchange for compensation, the tribes recognized the American ownership of the tract.
]
Treaty of 1804
The Treaty of Vincennes signed in 1804 was to purchase additional lands for settlement. The area purchased was south of the Vincennes tract and the Buffalo Trace, north of the Ohio River
The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...
, and east of the Wabash River. The treaty had the effect of connecting Clark's Grant and the Vincennes Tract. The area had many squatters living on native owned lands which led to rising tensions with the tribes; the treaty relieved pressure on the settlers, allowing them to freely settle the land.
See also
*History of Indiana
The history of human activity in Indiana, a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States, Midwest, stems back to the migratory tribes of Native Americans who inhabited Indiana as early as 8000 BC. Tribes succeeded one another in dominance for seve ...
* Treaty of Grouseland
Notes
Sources
*
{{Indiana history
Native American history of Indiana
Vincennes
Vincennes
1803 in the United States