Tecumseh

During the 1800s government policy forced Native Americans to leave their homes and move west to live on reservations. Some followed this policy while other Native Americans, like

Tecumseh, resisted these changes in various ways. Tecumseh and his brother led a rebellion during the War of 1812 that represented the willingness to fight the settlers.

What other factors make Tecumseh an influential American?

During the 1800s, Native Americans experienced major changes in their ways of life. Government policy forced Native Americans to leave their homes and often sent them west to live on reservations. Those who did not leave were either put in prison or forced to adapt to European-American culture. Native Americans resisted these changes in a number of ways. While some took the government to court to debate whether or not the changes were legal, others took more drastic measures to stand up for their rights. One leader of the Native Americans was Tecumseh. A member of the Shawneeh tribe, Tecumseh defended the Native Americans’ right to land by organizing various tribes in the Ohio Valley and Indiana territories against the U.S. government. With the help of his brother, a prophet named Tenskwatawa, Tecumseh led a series of attacks against the United States during the War of 1812. Though his rebellion was defeated, Tecumseh’s War represented the willingness and desire of Native Americans from different tribes to come together to defend their land, rights and way of life.

Smoking pipes was an important part of Native American culture. Often, at important meetings, leaders would pass pipes like this one around to one another as a symbol of unity.

Unknown. (n.d.). Ceremonial pipe, attributed to Tecumseh. Library of Congress: American Memory, The First American West: The Ohio River Valley, 1750-1820.

This drawing dramatizes the death of Tecumseh.

Currier, N. (1847). Death of Tecumseh. Battle of the Thomas, Oct. 5th, 1813. Library of Congress: Prints & Photographs, Pictorial Americana: Selected Images from the Collections of the Library of Congress.

Tecumseh made an alliance with the British during the War of 1812 similar to the one Joseph Brant made during the Revolutionary War. Shown here is a battle between a local militia and the British, with whom Tecumseh had sided.

Emmons, W. (1833). Battle of the Thames and the death of Tecumseh, by the Kentucky mounted volunteers led by Colonel Richard M. Johnson, 5th Oct. 1813. Library of Congress: Prints & Photographs, Popular Graphic Arts.

As Tecumseh and his men led attacks on the western frontier during the war, the British launched a series of battles along the Atlantic coast. They burned the city of Washington , DC, in August 1814, an event ridiculed in this cartoon.

Unknown. (1814). The fall of Washington - or Maddy in full flight. . Library of Congress: Prints & Photographs.