Victual Imperialism and U.S. Indian Policy

Abstract

This chapter studies the rise of American victual imperialism in the 1790s. During the 1780s and 1790s, U.S. Indian commissioners had copied generous British diplomacy because they feared Native hunger. As the federal government gained an advantage over the states, U.S. officials tried to decrease the cost of such practices by telling Native Americans about alternative ways to prevent hunger: by producing crops, meat, and dairy. The Plan of Civilization relied upon the idea that Indians who adopted American notions of proper husbandry could become usefully independent, and could use less land to do so. By the mid-1810s, the Plan of Civilization's promoters had succeeded in decreasing food aid and distributing provisions that physically sickened Native Americans. The scheme, rather than preventing Indian hunger by transforming Indians into husbandmen, instead ate up Indians' territory while killing Indians. American victual imperialism worked alongside the Native and non-Native diplomacy that continued into the 1810s. Victual imperialism and food diplomacy both mischaracterized Native hunger while encouraging select groups of Indians to collaborate with non-Native officials to implement and enforce changes in the food system. Once this process was underway, victual imperialism replaced food diplomacy, and Native Americans lost this particular battle.