Declarations of Independence : Indigenous Resilience, Colonial Rivalries, and the Cost of Revolution / Christopher R. Pearl.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Pearl, Christopher R., 1983- author.

Series:

Revolutionary age (Charlottesville, Va.)

The Revolutionary Age Series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Susquehanna Claim, 1753-1808.

Susquehanna Indians--Government relations.

Susquehanna Indians.

Susquehanna River Valley--History--18th century.

Susquehanna River Valley.

United States--History--Revolution, 1775-1783.

United States.

United States--Politics and government--1775-1783.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (358 pages)

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Charlottesville, Virginia : University of Virginia Press, [2024]

Summary:

"On the cusp of the American Revolution, various groups in the Northern Susquehanna River Valley competed for land and political sovereignty, and the increasing turmoil between them set the terms of and ultimately shaped the meaning of the revolution to come. This book weaves the stories of the Susquehanna Nations, a confederation of nearly a dozen refugee Indigenous Nations that came together in the 1750s, and the Fair Play Squatter Republic, which formed outside colonial jurisdiction in the 1770s by unruly settlers trespassing on Native lands, into a riveting tale of declarations of independence won and lost. In so doing, historian Christopher Pearl highlights the complicated racial violence that suffused the Revolutionary Age and establishes the centrality of Indigenous peoples to the founding of the United States"-- Provided by publisher.

"How Indigenous Americans and colonial settlers negotiated the meaning of independence in the Revolutionary era On July 4, 1776, two hundred miles northwest of Philadelphia, on Indigenous land along the West Branch of the Susquehanna River, a group of colonial squatters declared their independence. They were not alone in their efforts. This bold symbolic gesture was just a small part of a much broader and longer struggle in the Northern Susquehanna River Valley, where diverse peoples, especially Indigenous nations, fought tenaciously to safeguard their lands, sovereignty, and survival. This book immerses readers in that intense, decades-long struggle. By intertwining the experiences of Indigenous Americans, rebellious colonial squatters, opportunistic land speculators, and imperial government agents, Christopher Pearl reveals how conflicts within and between them all set the terms and ultimately shaped the meaning of the American Revolution. In the crucible of this conflict, memories, histories, and animosities collided and converged with tremendous consequences. Declarations of Independence delves into the racial violence over land and sovereignty that suffused the Revolutionary Age and helps restore Indigenous peoples to their central position at the founding of the United States"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

"The foundation of our uneasiness" : mischief makers and Native Americans in the Susquehanna River Valley, 1749

"Very uneasy and displeas'd" : displacement and alienation on the Haudenosaunee Frontier, 1750-1754

"Bird on a bow" : the rise of the Susquehanna Nations and a war for independence in the Northern Susquehanna River Valley, 1754-1758

"Hearts and mouths" : an uneasy peace, 1758-1763

A "diversity of interests" : attempts to separate people and divide land, 1763-1767

"A great run for the lands on Susquehanna" : the Treaty of Fort Stanwix, 1768

An empire divided : the consequence of Fort Stanwix, 1768-1773

"A spirit of liberty and patriotism pervaded the people" : the creation of a squatter republic in the Northern Susquehanna River Valley and the beginning of the American Revolution, 1773-1776

"The title of savages :" the revolutionary war in the Northern Susquehanna River Valley, 1776-1783

Aftermath : establishing the revolution's "value" in a "rising empire" of liberty.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

0-8139-5200-X

OCLC:

1439101594