The treatment of American Indians during the war of 1812 is a difficult time to understand. Americans viewed the Indians as savage, some warrior and some noble, but savages nonetheless. The only solution to co-existing was to civilize them. Madison seemed to believe that fighting was in their blood, and that they were being whipped up into a frenzy by the British. Some historians see things differently, perhaps the American Indians were fighting to preserve their land. By 1811, Techumseh and his brother Tenskatawa had built a confederation of more than 24 Indian nations for the purpose of what seemed to be to stop settler expansion. Did Madison and the war hawks use fear to sell the war against Britain and the Indians? Were the Indian tribes savages who were seduced into war by the British? Did Madison and General Jackson use appropriate force? Was it necessary to crush the warring Indian tribe such that it would send a message throughout all of the land?
I wish I had answers, but I don't. I can only imagine back then, the talk of town. Why do we try to civilize these Indians, they will never be one of us. As long as they are here in America, we will not be safe. We need to teach them a lesson. America will never be strong, so long as we allow them to attack us like that. While there may be an element of truth in all of these statements, does it justify the violence?
In James Madison's 5th annual address to the nation, he outlined the cruelty of the British to enlist the "savages" against us. Madison unleashed a great fury against them:
"The cruelty of the enemy in enlisting the savages into a war with a nation desirous of mutual emulation in mitigating its calamities has not been confined to any one quarter. Wherever they could be turned against us no exertions to effect it have been spared. On our southwestern border the Creek tribes, who, yielding to our persevering endeavors, were gradually acquiring more civilized habits, became the unfortunate victims of seduction. A war in that quarter has been the consequence, infuriated by a bloody fanaticism recently propagated among them. It was necessary to crush such a war before it could spread among the contiguous tribes and before it could favor enterprises of the enemy into that vicinity. With this view a force was called into the service of the United States from the States of Georgia and Tennessee, which, with the nearest regular troops and other corps from the Mississippi Territory, might not only chastise the savages into present peace but make a lasting impression on their fears."
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