How the Indians
Lost Their Land
Chapter 4 - A Revolution in
Land Policy

● In the spring of 1783, General Philip Schuyler was sent by the
Continental Congress to tell the Six Nations that the revolution was over.
● Schuyler was apart of the federal governments Board of Indian
Commissioners, New York state senator, and the state’s surveyor general. ● There was good news and there was bad news.
● The good news: “The great spirit above has helped and given us success, and with the assistance of France [we] have conquered the King of England.”
● The bad news: “We are now Masters, and can dispose of the lands as we think proper or most convenient to ourselves.”

● Most of the tribes fought alongside Britain in the war, which didn’t make the Americans very happy.
● Before, everyone purchased Indian lands, but now that the war was over, the Indians were considered defeated enemies, and could be dealt with however the Americans pleased.
● The Indians had previously looked at the imperial government in England for protection, but after the war, the King did not want anything to do with the Indians. This was because the
Americans had conquered Britain.
● The land policy was one of the biggest changes in American life. ● Schuyler told the Indians that all of this was punishment for those that fought against the Americans.

● The Revolution contributed to the land policy in other ways, too. ● It birthed new units of government that were short on money, increased the political power of land speculators and settlers, and removed the restraining hand of the imperial government.
● As a result, the Americans quit taking the English route by actually purchasing land from the Indians.
● They instead implemented a series of “treaties” that made it where they could just take Indian land without giving any compensation. ● In the late 1780s, the Americans decided that they couldn’t keep up their charade much longer.
● In order to avoid the threat of war, they began compensating the