Mr. Jefferson’s Hammer: William Henry Harrison and the Origins of American Indian Policy (review)

Abstract

Mr. Jefferson's Hammer: William Henry Harrison and the Origins of American Policy. By Robert M. Owens. (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2007. Pp. 344. Cloth, $34.95.)Reviewed by Jay SextonRobert Owens opens his important study of William Henry Harrison with the 1807 Chesapeake-Leopard affair. Like many of his compatriots, Harrison viewed British aggression on the high seas as part of broader plot undermine the American republic. Fear of Britain was also the prism through which Harrison viewed Native Americans: Convinced that hostile British agents lurked behind every tree, Harrison viewed the Indian problem in the Northwest not as the result of America's aggressive westward expansion and his bullying negotiating tactics, but rather as an extension of the young republic's ongoing struggle against Britain. Harrison contended that the 1811 Battle of Tippecanoe proved to our enemies that the spark of '76 is not yet extinguished (223). Yet Owens makes clear that Anglophobia was versatile language and concept. At times Harrison exploited America's Anglophobic culture undermine his political opponents. And hatred of the old country did not preclude emulation of it: That unstable cocktail of admiring British tradition and hating British rule always lay just beneath the surface for Americans in the early Republic (xvi).This book focuses on Harrison's early career in the Indiana Territory, where he served as territorial governor from 1801-12. It makes good use of the recently microfilmed papers of Harrison edited by Douglas Clanin and the Indiana Historical Society. Owens sets out produce cultural biography (xvi) that situates Harrison's early military and political activities in the context of Jeffer sonian America. The book does good job of zooming in on Harrison and then stepping back place his life and actions in the broader canvas of early America. Nonetheless, the most interesting parts of the book are those that deal with Harrison himself. Owens shows how, in contrast the cider-drinking commoner portrayed in the 1840 election, Harrison was at heart Virginia aristocrat who sought more than anything establish his position in the social and political hierarchy. He wanted, he needed, be among the sociopolitical elite (41). It was this quest that took Harrison westward, where he quickly established his credentials while serving under General Anthony Wayne. It was not long before he had promising political career before him, as well as planter-style home, Grouseland, in Vincennes, Indiana. But like many of the Virginia planters he sought mimic, Harrison fell into debt, leading him engage in a veritable orgy of land sales and purchases (74) and get-rich-quick ventures such as studhorse business.Harrison's aristocratic tendencies at times put him at odds with the increasingly democratic and populist politics of the West. His many moves consolidate personal power in Indiana - he stacked the territorial legislature with his supporters and aggressively used his powers of patronage - made him polarizing figure in Indiana politics. No issue was more controversial than Harrison's efforts introduce slavery into the Indiana Territory, measure he argued was necessary attract migrants. …