Frontier Indiana (History of the Trans-Appalachian Frontier) [Hardcover]

Andrew R. L. Cayton (Author)

Book Description

Series: History of the Trans-Appalachian Frontier | Publication Date: October 1996

This book is "Frontier Indiana" by Andrew R. L. Cayton. '...[a] graceful, arresting narrative ...grounded in primary and secondary sources...' - "Choice". '...a most compelling book' - Craig Thompson Friend, Georgetown College Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, Winter 1997. '...engagingly written...' - Cite AB, August 11-18, 1997. 'The appeal of this book besides its readable 337 pages is that Cayton focuses on people as well as events, and he doesn't give all the press to men, which often happens in books about 18th and 19th century history' - Annette Wartel, Palladium-Item, Richmond, Indiana. For all this talk of affection, however, Anna [Symmes] was also stubborn and direct when she knew what she wanted. It was no coincidence that she defied her father in making the one great choice of her life: to marry William Henry Harrison. The Judge had good reason to worry about the twenty-three old officer. Symmes conceded that the lieutenant had 'understanding, prudence, education, and resource in conversation' as well as 'about L3000 property' and the Judge wanted the assistance of some young man in my own arrangements. The problem was that Harrison had Ono profession but that of arms. [A]bilities he has, what his application may be I have yet to discover. This was all perfectly reasonable. Indeed, the Judge intended to 'consult' with his daughters about the whole business while Nancy [as the Judge called her] considered Harrison's offer. In the end, it seems, Symmes objected less to Harrison than to the timing of the match. But fathers in late eighteenth-century North America had increasingly less influence over their children's marriages. Romance and passion were the order of the day. Nancy made her own choice and she made it primarily for love. Most history concentrates on the broad sweep of events, battles and political decisions, economic advance or decline, landmark issues and events, and the people who lived and made these events tend to be lost in the big picture. Cayton's lively new history of the frontier period in Indiana puts the focus on people, on how they lived and how they viewed their world and what motivated them. Here are the stories of, among others: Jean-Baptiste Bissot, Sieur de Vincennes; George Croghan, the ultimate frontier entrepreneur; the world as seen by George Rogers Clark; Josiah Harmar and John Francis Hamtramck; Little Turtle; Anna Tuthill Symmes Harrison and William Henry Harrison; Tenskwatawa; Jonathan Jennings; and Calvin Fletcher. Focusing his account on these and other representative individuals, Cayton retells the story of Indiana's settlement in a human and compelling narrative which makes the experience of exploration and settlement real and exciting. Here is a book that will appeal to the general reader and scholar alike while going a long way to reinfusing our understanding of history and the historical process with the breath of life itself. This book offers a history of the Trans-Appalachian Frontier Series. The general editors are Walter Nugent and Malcolm Rohrbough. It is a Choice Outstanding Academic Book of 1997.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

In this readable history, Cayton (The Frontier Republic, Kent State Univ., 1986) traces the development of Indiana from 1700, when the Miami tribe dominated the region, to 1850 and the end of the frontier. While some scholars might quibble with Cayton's definition and use of the term frontier, he does succeed in producing an enjoyable narrative history of the people who occupied Indiana for 150 years. While not as encompassing as James H. Madison's Indiana Way (Indiana Univ./Indiana Historical Society, 1986), this title focuses on some of the individuals involved in key aspects of Indiana history. Cayton admits that the people he includes are not necessarily those who played the most pivotal roles but are those about whom there is ample source material. He nonetheless provides a balanced perspective and never lapses into the "great man" notion of history. At times, though, one does lose a sense of the broader context in which some of these individuals lived. For the serious reader, the bibliographic essay is particularly good. Recommended for general readers and academic libraries.?Daniel D. Liestman, Seattle Pacific Univ. Lib., Kent, Wash.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Cayton's graceful, arresting narrative is grounded in primary and secondary sources, including classics by Emma Lou Thornbrough and Bernard Knollenberg, James Madison's The Indiana Way (CH, Jan'87), and new studies from such scholars as Richard White and Gregory Evans Dowd. Spanning 1700—1850 in ten chapters and an epilogue, Cayton's first-rate study interprets the successive worlds of the Miami (1700—1754), then of individuals whose experiences epitomized unfolding chapters of Indiana frontier history. With a keen ear for the revealing anecdote and apt quotation, the author treats the world of George Croghan (1750—1777); the village of Vincennes (1765—1777); the milieus of George Rogers Clark (1778—1787), Josiah Harmar, and John Francis Hamtramck (1787—1790); Little Turtle (1790—1795); Anna Tuthill Symmes Harrison (wife of William Henry Harrison, 1795—1810); Tenskwatawa (1795—1811); Jonathan Jennings (1800—1816); and the end of the frontier (1816—1850). Along the way readers discover figures such as John and William Conner, the early rivalry between Centerville and Richmond, an explanation of why Indiana remained a state of small towns and farms until the latter half of the 20th century, and the basis for understanding one of the more interesting states of the Union. Fine illustrations, maps. All levels.D. W. Steeples, Mercer University, Choice, February 1997

(D. W. Steeples, Mercer University Choice 1997)

"Extremely readable and exciting treatments of the region during the 18th and 19th centuries." —The Annals of Iowa

"Andrew Cayton has contributed another valuable addition to the historical literature on the Old Northwest.... a finely textured social history." —Michigan Historical Review

"Cayton's book will give pleasure to anyone who wants to know more about Indiana and its peoples, and will also be appreciated by scholars for its perceptive analyses and for its incorporation of recent research on a variety of topics." —Journal of the Early Republic

"A superb introduction to the latest scholarship on American frontiers." —William and Mary Quarterly

"... excellent... valuable contributions to both the general and the informed reader." —American Historical Review

"The research and scholarship that went into the work are excellent; so good, in fact, that the book should be on the required text list for all Transappalachian frontier courses." —History

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 360 pages
• Publisher: Indiana University Press (October 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0253330483
• ISBN-13: 978-0253330482
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,088,275 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing to anyone interested in Midwestern history, June 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Frontier Indiana (A History of the Trans-Appalachian Frontier) (Paperback)

This is one of my favorite books on the history of the Old Northwest Territory. I enjoyed it very much, and I felt it was very interesting. Cayton writes in chapters, explaining about certain parts of Indiana from the viewpoints of someone involved in the area of Indiana studied, either in the military, politically, as a Native American, and a civilian. It's a great book and I have used it as a reference, and read back over it many times since I bought it for a course several years ago.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars King of the Northwest Territory, September 27, 2011

By 

Jon L. Albee "Faulkner Wannabe" (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Frontier Indiana (A History of the Trans-Appalachian Frontier) (Paperback)

First let me mention a few things about the author before we take a look at the book.

Andrew Cayton, Distinguished Professor of History at Miami University of Ohio, is THE world authority on the frontier history of the Western Reserve and Northwest Territory. Here, as in all of the books he writes, you're dealing with the product of a powerful, critical intellect and a novelist's narrative skill. Dr. Cayton's books do not disappoint, and this one is no exception.

This book establishes a thesis that the author goes on to further explore in his later books, namely, that the unique cultural characteristics of the states that formed immediately over the Appalachian mountains during (and after) the American Revolution - Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana - are a direct result of the blending of peoples from different migration routes. Indiana is NOTHING like Ohio, for example, because the French and the native Americans established large cultural footprints there, whereas, they did not in Ohio. American migrants into Indiana, which formed from the Northwest Territory, came (mostly) from the South, from lowland Virginia, through Kentucky, and across the Ohio river. In Ohio, which formed as an extension of the older Western Reserve, migrants came across the Ohio river from Pennsylvania, far northwestern Virginia and, most profoundly, from New England. Nobody is likely to confuse Vincennes, Indiana with Marietta, Ohio. No, no, Hoosiers are nothing like Buckeyes, and neither are like blue-grass Kentuckians.

The book is divided into chronological chapters, defined by the dominant cultural influences of each period. It starts with the "World of the Miami," and passes through successive periods of French, English, and American territorial influences. What do we end up with by the time Indiana becomes a state in 1816? E Pluribus Unum, in the most profound sense of that overused and misunderstood Latin phrase.

The author weaves a fine narrative of pioneer life in the Northwest Territory, and describes how movement, and the LACK of movement, settled into the Hoosier culture we recognize today. It's extremely well done, convincing, deeply researched and sparsely illustrated with a few well-chosen maps and photographs. Readers should note that this is essentially a cultural history, rather than an economic or military history. Commerce, trade, and warfare, while not completely neglected, do not form the core of the study. Frontier politics, obviously, are an important ingredient in the total thesis.

I recommend this book to anyone with a general interest in the early history of Indiana, and the larger Northwest Territory.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, February 18, 2009

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Lynda L. Miller - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Frontier Indiana (A History of the Trans-Appalachian Frontier) (Paperback)

This book is well written. I enjoy searching for family tree members in genealogy. I wanted a book to give me background on the movement of people and development of states during the expansion of the USA. This book is a good addition to my library.