Tecumseh, Shawnee Chief, 1768-1813

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Tecumseh (born circa 1768, present-day Ohio – died October 5, 1813, Moraviantown, Upper Canada), Shawnee chief and warrior who promoted resistance to the expansion of the United States onto Native American lands. A persuasive orator, Tecumseh traveled widely, forming a Native American confederacy and promoting intertribal unity. Even though his efforts to unite Native Americans ended with his death in the War of 1812, he became an iconic folk hero in American, Indigenous, and Canadian popular history.

Tecumseh was born in what is now Ohio, at a time when the far-flung Shawnees were reuniting in their Ohio Country homeland. During his childhood, the Shawnees lost territory to the expanding American colonies in a series of border conflicts. Tecumseh's father was killed in battle against American colonists in 1774. Tecumseh was thereafter mentored by his older brother Cheeseekau, a noted war chief who died fighting Americans in 1792. As a young war leader, Tecumseh joined Shawnee Chief Blue Jacket's armed struggle against further American encroachment, which ended in defeat at the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794 and with the loss of most of Ohio in the 1795 Treaty of Greenville.

In 1805, Tecumseh's younger brother Tenskwatawa, who came to be known as the Shawnee Prophet, founded a religious movement that called upon Native Americans to reject European influences and return to a more traditional lifestyle. In 1808, Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa established Prophetstown, a village in present-day Indiana, that grew into a large, multi-tribal community. Tecumseh traveled constantly, spreading the Prophet's message and eclipsing his brother in prominence. Tecumseh proclaimed that Native Americans owned their lands in common and urged tribes not to cede more territory unless all agreed. His message alarmed American leaders as well as Native leaders who sought accommodation with the United States. In 1811, when Tecumseh was in the South recruiting allies, Americans under William Henry Harrison defeated Tenskwatawa at the Battle of Tippecanoe and destroyed Prophetstown.

In the War of 1812, Tecumseh joined his cause with the British, recruited warriors, and helped capture Detroit in August 1812. The following year he led an unsuccessful campaign against the United States in Ohio and Indiana. When U.S. naval forces took control of Lake Erie in 1813, Tecumseh reluctantly retreated with the British into Upper Canada, where American forces engaged them at the Battle of the Thames on October 5, 1813, in which Tecumseh was killed. His death caused his confederacy to collapse. The lands he had fought to defend were eventually ceded to the U.S. government. His legacy as one of the most celebrated Native Americans in history grew in the years after his death, although details of his life have often been obscured by mythology.

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn Hinde, Thomas S. (Thomas Spottswood), 1785-1846. Draper manuscripts: Thomas Spottswood Hinde papers, 1807-1845. Wisconsin Historical Society, Newspaper Project
referencedIn Banta, R. E. (Richard Elwell). Papers, 1938-1977. Indiana University
referencedIn Bushnell, David I. (David Ives), 1875-1941. Papers, 1797-1941 1917-1941. William & Mary Libraries
creatorOf Tecumseh, Shawnee Chief, 1768-1813. Draper manuscripts: Tecumseh papers, 1811-1931. Wisconsin Historical Society, Newspaper Project
referencedIn Law, John. Tecumseh (Shawnee chief) biographical sketch, 1857 Detroit Public Library, Detroit Main Library
referencedIn William Henry Harrison-related pictures [graphic], ca. 1836-1950 bulk 1840-1841. Indiana Historical Society Library
referencedIn Guild, Rufus. Letter : Shabbona's Grove, Ill., to Asa Guild, Milford, N.H., 1854 July 1. Newberry Library
referencedIn Little, Francis,. Francis Little Collection, 1770-1864. William & Mary Libraries
referencedIn Albert J. Pickett papers, 1779-1904 Alabama Department of Archives and History
referencedIn O'Fallon, John, 1791-1865. John O'Fallon : papers, 1809-1850. The Filson Historical Society
referencedIn Drake, Benjamin, 1794-1841. Letter to John H. James [manuscript], 1840 April 7. University of Virginia. Library
referencedIn Mitten, Arthur G., 1866-1938. Collection, 1755-1936. Indiana Historical Society Library
referencedIn Beall, William Kennedy, 1782-1815. Journal, 1812 July 5-1812 Aug. 4. The Filson Historical Society
referencedIn David Ives Bushnell, Jr. Papers, 1797-1941 North Carolina State University. Special Collections Research Center
referencedIn Johnson, Richard M. (Richard Mentor), 1781-1850. Letter, 1838 April 25, Washington D.C. [to] Samuel Drake. Indiana Historical Society Library
referencedIn Harry Stevens Papers, 1960s-1980s Gift through Herman H. Goldstine. (Ms Coll 99), 1960-1989 American Philosophical Society
referencedIn Filson Club. Filson Club lectures, 1887-1992. The Filson Historical Society
referencedIn Essex County Tourist Association (Essex County, Ont.). Radio speeches, 1960-1963. Clarke Historical Library
referencedIn Draper, Lyman Copeland, 1815-1891. Collection of Lyman Copeland Draper Manuscripts, 1735-1890. Library of Congress
referencedIn Scioto Society (Chillicothe, Ohio). Tecumseh! Outdoor historical drama. Ohio History Connection, Ohio Historical Society
referencedIn Dunihue, Daniel R. [Journal], 1830. Indiana State Library - ISL
referencedIn New Harmony Manuscripts, 1812-1871 Working Men's Institute of New Harmony, Indiana
referencedIn Onderdonk, Henry, 1804-1886. Life and times of Tecumseh / by Henry Onderdonk Jr., Jamaica, L.I., 1842. Newberry Library
referencedIn Majors, Henry M. The Battle of Tippecanoe, 1970. Indiana Historical Society Library
referencedIn Draper, Lyman Copeland, 1815-1891,. Draper manuscripts: frontier wars papers, 1754-1885. Wisconsin Historical Society, Newspaper Project
referencedIn Draper, Lyman Copeland, 1815-1891,. Draper manuscripts: Thomas Forsyth papers, 1804-1833. Wisconsin Historical Society, Newspaper Project
creatorOf Lewis Cass papers (1774-1924) William L. Clements Library
referencedIn Lewis Cass papers (1774-1924) William L. Clements Library
referencedIn Copeland, Charles Sanders. Tippecanoe and Tecumseh too : a play in two acts / Charles Sanders Copeland. Indiana Historical Society Library
referencedIn Draper, Lyman Copeland, 1815-1891. Draper manuscript collection, 1779-1794 Detroit Public Library, Detroit Main Library
referencedIn Sympson, James. Memorandeums [sic] of Captain James Sympson : diary, 1813. Kentucky Historical Society, Martin F. Schmidt Research Library
referencedIn Drake, Benjamin, 1794-1841. Letters, 1821. Wisconsin Historical Society, Newspaper Project
referencedIn Draper Manuscripts: Draper's Notes Wisconsin Historical Society Archives
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith Banta, R. E. (Richard Elwell) person
associatedWith Beall, William Kennedy, 1782-1815. person
associatedWith Brown, Bertram Erwin, b.1871. person
associatedWith Bryant, William Cullen, 1794-1878 person
associatedWith Bushnell, Belle Johnston, b. 1859 person
associatedWith Bushnell, David I. (David Ives), 1875-1941. person
associatedWith Chouteau, Rene Auguste, 1749-1829 person
associatedWith Copeland, Charles Sanders. person
associatedWith Drake, Benjamin, 1794-1841. person
associatedWith Draper, Lyman Copeland, 1815-1891. person
associatedWith Dunihue, Daniel R. person
associatedWith Essex County Tourist Association (Essex County, Ont.) corporateBody
associatedWith Filson Club. corporateBody
associatedWith Greeley, Horace, 1811-1872 person
associatedWith Guild, Rufus. person
associatedWith Harrison, William Henry, 1773-1841 person
associatedWith Hinde, Thomas S. (Thomas Spottswood), 1785-1846. person
associatedWith Johnson, Richard M. (Richard Mentor), 1781-1850. person
associatedWith Kurz, Rudolph Friedrich, 1818-1871 person
associatedWith Law, John person
associatedWith Little, Francis, person
associatedWith Long, Stephen Harriman, 1784-1864 person
associatedWith Majors, Henry M. person
associatedWith Mitten, Arthur G., 1866-1938. person
associatedWith New Harmony (Ind.) Working Men's Institute. corporateBody
associatedWith O'Fallon, John, 1791-1865. person
associatedWith Onderdonk, Henry, 1804-1886. person
associatedWith Say, Thomas, 1787-1834 person
associatedWith Scioto Society (Chillicothe, Ohio) corporateBody
associatedWith Stevens, Harry person
associatedWith Sympson, James. person
associatedWith William L. Clements Library. corporateBody
Place Name Admin Code Country
Subject
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Birth 1768

Death 1813-10-05

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