Developing A Trade System
The Trade and Intercourse Act of 1793 revised and renewed the provisions of its predecessor and gave greater definition to the relationship between the United States and Indian tribes. Emphasizing the principal that native communities were to be treated as sovereign nations, the federal government sought to regulate diplomatic and economic exchange with them. However, while the first two trade acts established a series of rules respecting the rights of individual native communities within a broader trade relationship, it did not establish the mechanisms for that relationship. To achieve this end, the federal government conceived two pieces of legislation that would provide the means through which the trade system could exist.
Washington’s Push
As early as 1793, President George Washington advocated for the creation of a series of government run trade houses, bases through which the federal government could manage trade between the United States and Indian nations. While the federal government crafted the rules governing that trade, Washington urged Congress to put forward a proposal that would ensure that economic relations would be fair and equitable. He also realized that the funds necessary to maintain this trade would be essential and encouraged Congress to make such provisions.
Appropriation of Funds
Within two years, the process was already well underway. In 1795, Congress made financial provisions for trade with Indian tribes by enacting legislation that set aside the sum of $50,000 for the “purchase of goods for supplying” Indian nations located within the confines of the United States. This sum was appropriated for the purchases of trade items, which would them be sold to or exchanged with native communities.
Trade Houses
In 1796, Congress enacted legislation that provided for the creation of trading houses along the western frontier and within the area of land designated as “Indian country.” This legislation provided for the creation of trade houses that would manage and facilitate trade between the United States and Indian nations. The President of the United States was empowered to appoint agents who would be responsible for the management of this trade. Building upon the principals established in the two previous Trade and Intercourse Acts, this piece of legislation set in motion the trade relationship envisioned by Washington.
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).
