Northwest Territory's First Governor

The Northwest Territory's first delegate to Congress was the son of one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence and from one of Virginia's most prominent families.  William Henry Harrison had been in the army as an aide to Anthony Wayne during the Fallen Timbers battle (see previous post about that battle).  Harrison was serving as Secretary for the Territory and Lieutenant Governor when elected to Congress.

William Henry Harrison was only twenty-six years of age, but his first victory in 1800 was to divide the Northwest Territory into two distinct governments.  The east side was Ohio and the west side was Indiana.  Harrison was made governor of Indiana and resided in Vincennes.  In 1802 Ohio would become the first state from the Northwest Territory.

Meanwhile, the white population was growing rapidly.  By 1810 Indiana had grown from a mere 2,500 people to 25,000.  In this new rush of pioneers, the rights of Indians were barely considered.  The great hunting grounds of deer, bear and buffalo had been laid waste by civilization by 1810.  The Congress had done little to uphold the law to protect natives and their property.  There were laws meant to prevent the sale of liquor to the Indian, but the courts only uphold them outside the boundaries of the state and the territory.

For the most part, the Northwest Territory ignored laws concerning Indians.  In a report, Harrison, known for his distaste for the native race, wrote that only 600 warriors were found on the Wabash and they consumed 6000 gallons of whiskey a year.  The effect was drunken brawls so often that the killing of natives by natives was no longer considered a crime.

Harrison made treaties with remnants of the Miami and Delaware (and smaller tribes) in the early 1800s which he viewed as "a body of the most depraved wretches on earth."  In 1809 Harrison acquired in the Treaty of Fort Wayne, 3 million acres up the Wabash.  This territory, more rich in game than any region south of Lake Michigan, was one more crisis for the natives in the long-brewing conflict with the white man.

Harrison as governor of the white settlers, would be put to the test by one young warrior arising from the Indian tribes...

Next time. Tecumseh calls for union
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Today in Pioneer History:  "On April 2, 1670, the Hudson Bay Company is chartered by King Charles II.  A permanent charter to a group of French explorers that opened the North American fur trade to London merchants, the charter conferred not only a trading monopoly but also control of the Hudson River and surrounding areas.