The Sandusky Delay

Posted by Jeffrey R Gudzune Jul 1, 2007

Though little evidence exists to support the seriousness of America's commitment to reaching a settlement with the Miami Confederacy, the Sandusky conference was doomed from the start. The Indian delegation was unwilling to part with any more territory, and therefore seemed to forestall any progress by their firmness on the relocation of all American settlements to a point east of the Ohio River. The Americans were insistant on envoking a point of law relative to the Treaty of Paris, which had given the U.S. authority over all former British territory. Additionally, the conference failed due to the lack of understanding that both parties had for each other. The U.S. representatives were unsympathestic to, or at the verfy least unfamilure with, the plight of the confederated tribes. The Indian representatives on the other hand did not immediately see the futility in arguing with the Americans. What the conference does represent is the last gasp of civility in the Indian wars.