Declarations of Independence: Indigenous Resilience, Colonial Rivalries, and the Cost of Revolution
How Indigenous Americans and colonial settlers negotiated the meaning of independence in the Revolutionary era

On July 4, 1776, two hundred miles northwest of Philadelphia, on Indigenous land along the West Branch of the Susquehanna River, a group of colonial squatters declared their independence. They were not alone in their efforts. This bold symbolic gesture was just a small part of a much broader and longer struggle in the Northern Susquehanna River Valley, where diverse peoples, especially Indigenous nations, fought tenaciously to safeguard their lands, sovereignty, and survival.

This book immerses readers in that intense, decades-long struggle. By intertwining the experiences of Indigenous Americans, rebellious colonial squatters, opportunistic land speculators, and imperial government agents, Christopher Pearl reveals how conflicts within and between them all set the terms and ultimately shaped the meaning of the American Revolution. In the crucible of this conflict, memories, histories, and animosities collided and converged with tremendous consequences. Declarations of Independence delves into the racial violence over land and sovereignty that suffused the Revolutionary Age and helps restore Indigenous peoples to their central position at the founding of the United States.
1145311833
Declarations of Independence: Indigenous Resilience, Colonial Rivalries, and the Cost of Revolution
How Indigenous Americans and colonial settlers negotiated the meaning of independence in the Revolutionary era

On July 4, 1776, two hundred miles northwest of Philadelphia, on Indigenous land along the West Branch of the Susquehanna River, a group of colonial squatters declared their independence. They were not alone in their efforts. This bold symbolic gesture was just a small part of a much broader and longer struggle in the Northern Susquehanna River Valley, where diverse peoples, especially Indigenous nations, fought tenaciously to safeguard their lands, sovereignty, and survival.

This book immerses readers in that intense, decades-long struggle. By intertwining the experiences of Indigenous Americans, rebellious colonial squatters, opportunistic land speculators, and imperial government agents, Christopher Pearl reveals how conflicts within and between them all set the terms and ultimately shaped the meaning of the American Revolution. In the crucible of this conflict, memories, histories, and animosities collided and converged with tremendous consequences. Declarations of Independence delves into the racial violence over land and sovereignty that suffused the Revolutionary Age and helps restore Indigenous peoples to their central position at the founding of the United States.
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Declarations of Independence: Indigenous Resilience, Colonial Rivalries, and the Cost of Revolution

Declarations of Independence: Indigenous Resilience, Colonial Rivalries, and the Cost of Revolution

by Christopher R. Pearl
Declarations of Independence: Indigenous Resilience, Colonial Rivalries, and the Cost of Revolution

Declarations of Independence: Indigenous Resilience, Colonial Rivalries, and the Cost of Revolution

by Christopher R. Pearl

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Overview

How Indigenous Americans and colonial settlers negotiated the meaning of independence in the Revolutionary era

On July 4, 1776, two hundred miles northwest of Philadelphia, on Indigenous land along the West Branch of the Susquehanna River, a group of colonial squatters declared their independence. They were not alone in their efforts. This bold symbolic gesture was just a small part of a much broader and longer struggle in the Northern Susquehanna River Valley, where diverse peoples, especially Indigenous nations, fought tenaciously to safeguard their lands, sovereignty, and survival.

This book immerses readers in that intense, decades-long struggle. By intertwining the experiences of Indigenous Americans, rebellious colonial squatters, opportunistic land speculators, and imperial government agents, Christopher Pearl reveals how conflicts within and between them all set the terms and ultimately shaped the meaning of the American Revolution. In the crucible of this conflict, memories, histories, and animosities collided and converged with tremendous consequences. Declarations of Independence delves into the racial violence over land and sovereignty that suffused the Revolutionary Age and helps restore Indigenous peoples to their central position at the founding of the United States.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780813952000
Publisher: University of Virginia Press
Publication date: 10/11/2024
Series: The Revolutionary Age
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 358
File size: 5 MB

About the Author

Christopher R. Pearl is Associate Professor of History at Lycoming College and the author of Conceived in Crisis: The Revolutionary Creation of an American State.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

An excellent, superbly written book on an incredibly important place that we know very little about. Just when you thought we knew everything about the American Revolution, along comes Chris Pearl to shed all sorts of new light.—Robert Parkinson, Binghamton University, author of Heart of American Darkness: Bewilderment and Horror on the Early Frontier

Declarations of Independence makes a significant contribution. In a wide-ranging but highly readable study, Pearl sheds new light on Pennsylvania history, the American Revolution, and Native American history. History enthusiasts and scholars alike will find much to learn in it.—Patrick Spero, Executive Officer of the American Philosophical Society, author of Frontier Rebels: The Fight for Independence in the American West, 1765-1776

In recovering the history of the squatter republic of Fair Play, Chris Pearl illuminates not only backcountry Pennsylvania, but also the turbulence of the early American frontier. Indigenous, colonial, and imperial voices clash in this contentious and often violent tale about the contested meaning of independence in the hinterlands of the new nation.—Timothy J. Shannon, Gettysburg College, author of Iroquois Diplomacy on the Early American Frontier

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