EARLY AMERICAN INDIAN DOCUMENTS:
Treaties and Laws, 16071789
General Editor: Alden T. Vaughan
Professor Emeritus of Early American Civilization, Columbia University
Treaties between the early Anglo-American governments and the various
Indian tribes are crucial sources for understanding early American history
in general and the ethnohistory of Indian-European contact in particular.
This set fills an important gap by making these vital historical records easily
accessible. Besides formal treaties, the researcher will also find conference
reports, council minutes, commissioners reports, scouts and interpreters
records, and even deeds of land sales. Each chapter is prefaced by a
summary that places the ensuing documents in their proper historical
contexts. Each document has been skillfully edited and even original Indian
marks (i.e., signatures) carefully redrawn. The volumes are beautifully
bound and have a very readable typeface. Highly recommended for all
university and large public libraries.
Reference Services Review
he almost two centuries
that preceded the
implementation of the
United States Constitution in 1789
were the formative years of
Indian-white contact in America.
European colonists and American
Indians evolved basic patterns of
coexistencesometimes
harmonious, often contentious
that lasted with few fundamental
changes until the 20th century.
Those patterns continue to
influence governmental policies
and judicial decisions.
Access critical resources
Knowledge of early Indian-white
contacts has long been hampered
by the inaccessibility of historical
sources. (Kapplers well-known
collection, Indian Affairs: Laws
and Treaties, does not include this
early material.) Some records have
been published piecemeal and
incompletely; others not at all.
There has been no thorough
compilation of the most crucial
items: the treaties between the
early governments and the Indian
tribes and the laws concerning
Indians passed by colonial and
early national legislatures.
Uncover the history behind
todays controversial issues
Without access to that vital and
immense literaturemuch of it in
manuscript, the rest scattered
through hundreds of disparate
volumesmany of todays most
important historical and legal
questions must remain
unanswered. Such questions
concern specific matters of tribal
rights, land titles, and state
boundaries, as well as less
tangible but equally important
issues of ethnic discrimination and
assimilation.
Early legislation concerning
American Indians offered
together for the first time
UPAs Early American Indian
Documents will bring together for
the first time the laws relating to
the American Indians passed by
colonial, state, and national
governments before 1789 and all
significant diplomatic documents
(i.e., treaties, conferences, and
official correspondence) of the
William Bartrams sketch of Weoffki, the
Long Warrior of Alachua. Confirming the
implication of the caption that Weoffki was a
peace chief (King) rather than a war
leader, Bartram later called him Chief King
of the Seminoles. Courtesy of the American
Philosophical Society, Philadelphia.
same period. Scholars in several
fieldsespecially law,
anthropology, and ethnohistory
will find that the collections
chronological scope and inclusive
documentation result in an
unparalleled source for the
reassessment of early America.
Volume VIII chronicles the
rise of the powerful Iroquois
confederation
Two volumes were published in
1996. Volume 8, New York and
New Jersey Treaties, 16831713,
details the formation of the
Volume XII. Georgia and
Florida Treaties, 17641775
This volume chronicles the colony
of Georgia and the new colonies of
East and West Florida from the
close of the French and Indian War
(175463) to the onset of the
American Revolution. Nearly three
quarters of the documents in the
volume are being published for the
first time. Most of the remaining
documents appear in fresh and
more accurate transcriptions.
(Over, please)
powerful Iroquois confederation
in the late seventeenth century.
Neither the English nor the
French colonists could ignore the
might of the Iroquois, who
resourcefully pursued strategies
that balanced relations with both
European powers and with
surrounding Indian nations.
Volume 8 also covers the decline
of the Indian nations along the
Hudson River, on Long Island,
and in New Jersey.
southern tribes. Their status was,
however, slowly eroded by the
powerful European military
presences and the manipulation of
skilled European diplomats such
as William Johnson. Volume 9
also shows that the Lenape
Delawares of New Jersey and the
remnant Mahicans in New York
were intensively evangelized by
European clerics, often despite the
determined opposition of British
colonial officials.
Volume IX depicts tensions
leading up to the Seven
Years War
Volume 9, New York and New
Jersey Treaties, 17141753,
brings the chronology of Native
American diplomacy in New York
and New Jersey to the eve of the
Seven Years (French and Indian)
War. During this period, the
Iroquois attempted to maintain
their power and influence by
acting as a buffer between the
French and English. They pursued
a course of friendship with the
tribes surrounding the Great
Lakes, while refocusing their
warlike inclinations toward the
Volume XV offers rare
compilation of statutes
Published in 1998, Volume 15,
Virginia and Maryland Laws, and
Volume 16, Carolina and Georgia
Laws, bring together more than
500 statutes that pertain to Native
Americans. Carefully edited and
annotated, the new volumes
provide a comprehensive view of
the early colonies and states
statutory efforts to control their
native neighbors. Many of the
Indian laws concern major
matters such as war and peace, the
regulation of trade, the acquisition
of land, the establishment of
reservations, and the control of
EARLY AMERICAN INDIAN DOCUMENTS:
Treaties and Laws, 16071789
20 volumes. ISBN 0-89093-180-1.
Volumes are also available individually
servants and slaves. Among
numerous slave laws is the
influential and previously
unpublished South Carolina code
of 1696. These volumes also
include hundreds of laws of
special legal and social
significance in the 17th and 18th
centuries, such as bounties for
killing wolves, squirrels, and
crows; restrictions on the branding
of hogs; and curbs on the sale of
boats, horses, alcoholic beverages,
firearms, and other weapons.
These materials will be of
immense value to ethnohistorians,
social historians, legal scholars,
and anyone interested in
Americas formative years.
Volumes 15 and 16 are edited by
Professor Vaughan and Deborah
A. Rosen, Professor of American
History at Lafayette College. A
companion volume on northern
colonies and states is in
preparation.
Each volume contains a
general introduction for the series,
an introduction for that particular
volume, and introductions for all
of the chapters, as well as detailed
footnotes and a bibliography.
Forthcoming
Volume III. Pennsylvania Treaties, 17571775 (available 6/04)
Volume XIV. South Carolina and North Carolina Treaties (available
12/03)
Volume XVII. New England and Middle Atlantic Laws (available 1/04)
Volume I. Pennsylvania and Delaware Treaties, 16291737
Volume II. Pennsylvania Treaties, 17371756
Volume IV. Virginia Treaties, 16071722
Volume V. Virginia Treaties, 17231775
Volume VI. Maryland Treaties, 16321775
Volume VII. New York and New Jersey Treaties, 16091682
Volume VIII. New York and New Jersey Treaties, 16831713
Volume IX. New York and New Jersey Treaties, 17141753
Volume X. New York and New Jersey Treaties, 17541773
Volume XI. Georgia Treaties, 17331763
Volume XII. Georgia and Florida Treaties, 17641775
Volume XIII. South Carolina and North Carolina Treaties
Volume XV. Virginia and Maryland Laws, 16061786
Volume XVI. Carolina and Georgia Laws, 16631788
Volume XVIII. Revolution and Confederation, 17761789
Volume XIX. Southern New England Treaties, 16341775
Volume XX. Northern New England Treaties, 16071775
Printed 7/03.
