In the wake of the French and Indian War, the British government sought to separate the colonies from native settlements. The Royal Proclamation of 1763 prohibited the colonies from establishing new settlements in the region west of the Appalachian Divide--a natural barrier marked by the Appalachian Mountains. The encroachment of white settlements onto Indian land was a source of tension in the years prior to the war, and the British government felt that the establishment of a natural border would significantly lessen such tensions. Additionally, fighting for the protection of colonial assets was an expense that the British government did not wish to perpetually incur. This was the first policy that called for the creation of a separate Indian Territory--a region where the tribes could exist without the interference of settlements. In the years following the American Revolution, the American government would expand upon this basic premise.
Indian Territory
When the United States declared itself to be a free and independent nation, the question of how best to maintain peaceful relations with native tribes fell to the Continental Congress and its committees. While its agents sought broker alliances with native governments, the Committee on Indian Affairs looked to the future and drafted a policy to be initiated upon the conclusion of the rebellion. The American policy was very similar to the one adopted by the British government in aftermath of the French and Indian War. However, the Americans would go further than the British policy with the implementation of rules for mutual trade and the exchange of lands.
Trade Acts and the Factory System
Seeing a separate Indian Territory as the best way to secure the new nation’s borders, the American government adopted the same moratorium against settlement as the British had in 1763. Beginning in 1786, the American government passed a series of trade acts which would form the basis of its policy towards native tribes. The federal government assumed direct responsibility for trade and commerce with Indian nations. Revised several times between 1786 and 1802, these acts established rules for trade between the United States and Indian nations and provided for a border between the new American republic and the area of settlement for Indian tribes. Furthermore, only federal agents could negotiate treaties for native land and the states could only occupy lands that had been purchased or exchanged through federally recognized treaties. Trade between the United States and Indian tribes was regulated through a series of trade houses, houses that have been dubbed the factory system. This proved to be ineffective and in 1806, the Office of Indian trade was established and a subdivision of the War Department.
Sources:
Mark M. Boatner III, Encyclopedia of the American Revolution. (Mechanicsburg: Stackpole Books, 1994).
Mark C Carnes, Ed. U.S. History. (New York: MacMillan Library Reference, 1998).
Marilyn Miller and Martin Faux, American History Desk Reference. (New York: MacMillan, 1997).
Carl Waldman, Atlas of the North American Indian. (New York: Checkmark Books, 2000).
Carl Waldman, Encyclopedia of Native Tribes. (New York: Checkmark Books, 2006).
