B
A
and “impressing,” or drafting, them into the British navy. Another reason was the
Chesapeake incident. In June 1807, the commander of a British warship demand-
ed the right to board and search the U.S. naval frigate Chesapeake for British
deserters. When the U.S. captain refused, the British opened fire, killing 3
Americans and wounding 18.
Jefferson convinced Congress to declare an embargo, a ban on exporting
products to other countries. He believed that the Embargo Act of 1807 would hurt
Britain and the other European powers and force them to honor American neu-
trality. The embargo hurt America more than Britain, and in 1809 Congress lifted
the ban on foreign trade—except with France and Britain.
TECUMSEH’S CONFEDERACY
Another source of trouble appeared in 1809,
when General William Henry Harrison, the governor of the Indiana
Territory, invited several Native American chiefs to Fort Wayne, Indiana, and
persuaded them to sign away three million acres of
tribal land to the U.S. government.
Not all chiefs gave in. Like Little Turtle and chiefs
from other tribes, the Shawnee chief Tecumseh
believed that the only way for Native Americans to
protect their homeland against intruding white settlers
was to form a confederacy, a united Native American
nation.
Tecumseh was aided by his younger brother,
known as the Prophet. Around 1805, the Prophet had
started a reform movement within the Shawnee tribe
to cast off all traces of the white “civilization,” includ-
ing Christianity. Both the Prophet and Tecumseh
warned that the Great Spirit was angry with all of the
tribes who had abandoned their traditional practices
and beliefs. The time had come to return to those
beliefs, they urged, and to implore the aid of the Great
Spirit in driving out the invaders.
More practical than his brother, Tecumseh was a
brilliant strategist and a skillful diplomat. While con-
tinuing to press Harrison to withdraw from Native
American land, Tecumseh began negotiations with
the British for assistance in what seemed like an
inevitable war with the Americans. Throughout 1810
and 1811, Tecumseh traveled throughout the
Midwest and the South, trying to win followers to his
confederacy. Unfortunately, many tribes had already
accepted payment for their lands. Others were reluctant to give up tribal autono-
my by joining the kind of confederacy that Tecumseh proposed.
THE WAR HAWKS
In November 1811, while Tecumseh was absent, his brother
led the Shawnee in an attack on Harrison and his troops. Harrison struck back.
On the banks of the Tippecanoe river, he burned the Shawnee capital known as
Prophetstown to the ground. Harrison’s victory at what came to be known as the
Battle of Tippecanoe made him a national hero, but his troops suffered heavy
losses. When it was discovered that the Native American confederacy was using
arms from British Canada, a group of young congressmen from the South and
the West known as the war hawks called for war against Britain. Led by
Senator John C. Calhoun of South Carolina and Henry Clay of Kentucky, the
Speaker of the House of Representatives, the war hawks rallied behind their
motto: “On to Canada!”
Launching the New Nation 203
“ The Great Spirit gave
this great land to his
red children.”
TECUMSEH
A. Answer An
embargo pro-
hibits exports
to foreign coun-
tries. Jefferson
felt that the
embargo would
hurt Britain
and force it
to respect
American
neutrality.
B. Answer
The war hawks
discovered that
Native
Americans in
Tecumseh’s
confederacy
had been sup-
plied with arms
and ammunition
from British
Canada.
MAIN IDEA
MAIN IDEA
A
Analyzing
Issues
What was
Jefferson’s
reasoning behind
the embargo
of 1807?
MAIN IDEA
MAIN IDEA
B
Analyzing
Motives
Why did the
war hawks call
for the war
with Britain?
