In 1825, President Adams wrote of highly interesting relations "with the numerous tribes of aboriginal natives of this country". Of special interest were new Congressional acts allowing the federal government to establish treaties with these tribes and establish a road from the Missouri territory to Santa Fe New Mexico commonly known as the Santa Fe Trail. In 1792, Pedro Vial, a French explorer was the first to pioneer this route, and by 1821 the trail was regularly used by merchant traders to exchange manufactured goods from the United States for furs and other items in the newly independent Republic of Mexico. William Becknell, a Missouri Trader is credited with being the first to follow the route. Soon afterwards, wagon trains and pack mules were being sent over the route, prompting the need to establish treaties with the Indian tribes that claimed ownership of the land and with the Republic of Mexico. On March 3, 1825 Congress approved "An act to authorize the president of the United States to cause a road to be marked out from the western frontier of Missouri to the confines of New Mexico". The act authorized the president to appoint commissioners to mark out the Santa Fe trail as a road from the western frontier of the state of Missouri to Santa Fe in Mexico. $10,000 was appropriated to mark the 700 mile road, and $20,000 was appropriated to defray the expenses of making treaties to obtain the consent of the intervening tribes of Indians by treaty for the marking of the road and the unmolested use of the road for both the citizens of the United States and of the Mexican Republic.
In the 1825, Congress had been very generous in authorizing funds to defray the cost of "making treaties of trade and friendship with the Indian tribes beyond the Mississippi." Aside from funds to establish the Santa Fe Road, Congress added "An act making appropriations to defray the expense of negotiating into effect certain Indian Treaties" in March, and "An act making appropriations to enable the President of the United States to defray the expenses of delegations of the Choctaw, Creek, Cherokee, and Chickasaw , and other tribes of Indians, to explore the country west of the Mississippi" in May. The United States was taking steps to it's destiny as the prominent force in America over the many tribes "scattered over its extensive surface and so dependent even for their existence upon our power". Here are the words of John Quicy Adams as he shared them with Congress in his 1825 State of the Union Address
"Our relations with the numerous tribes of aboriginal natives of this country, scattered over its extensive surface and so dependent even for their existence upon our power, have been during the present year highly interesting. An act of Congress of 1824-05-25, made an appropriation to defray the expenses of making treaties of trade and friendship with the Indian tribes beyond the Mississippi. An act of 1825-03-03, authorized treaties to be made with the Indians for their consent to the making of a road from the frontier of Missouri to that of New Mexico, and another act of the same date provided for defraying the expenses of holding treaties with the Sioux, Chippeways, Menomenees, Sauks, Foxes, etc., for the purpose of establishing boundaries and promoting peace between said tribes. The first and last objects of these acts have been accomplished, and the second is yet in a process of execution."By 1849, the Santa Fe Trail was further used to Carry United States mail to Santa Fe when a contract was made with Waldo, Hall & Co. The road stayed in use until the Santa Fe Railroad was completed in 1872 replacing the the trail as a main transportation route between Missouri and the West.
References
Presidency.ucsb.edu. (2018). John Quincy Adams: First Annual Message. [online] Available at: http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=29467 [Accessed 5 Jan. 2018].Hamilton, S. (1826). Indian treaties, and laws and regulations relating to Indian affairs, to which is added appendix, containing proceedings of the old Congress and other important state papers in relation to Indian affairs. Washington, DC: Way & Gideon, pp.409-410.
Vlib.us. (2018). Santa Fe Trail History, William Becknell, 1821: Old West Kansas Trails: Kansas HeritageGroup. [online] Available at: http://www.vlib.us/old_west/trails/sfthist.html [Accessed 5 Jan. 2018].
En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Santa Fe Trail. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Fe_Trail [Accessed 5 Jan. 2018].
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/Map_of_Santa_Fe_Trail-NPS.jpg
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