Mr. Jefferson’s Hammer: William Henry Harrison and the Origins of American Indian Policy 84–86 by Robert M. Owens (review)

BOOK REVIEWS touch to end the book,and a nice addition to Boone studies. Morgan's book, however, falls into an almost inevitable pittallmaking a man with a big legend even bigger. At points, Morgan' s affinity for the man comes through in his prose. Morgan admittedly has had a long fascination with Boone. Perhaps,then, the moments where Morgan describes Boone as finding a sense of the sublimc in the wilderness without any direct documentation reflects Morgan's own admiration of the woodsman, along with an attempt to give the book literary f[: ire,rather than any real attempt to contribute to Boone history. At the same time, Morgan tries to conned the legend of Boone to the works of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. Morgan assumes that Boone was so embedded in American cultural imagery as the woodsman, the lover of the subli,ne 1: ziidscape, and a representation of what set the early republic apart from Europe, that authors concerned with nature and the beauty of tile untamed wilderness readily drew from Boone lore. Neither Emerson nor Thorcau, however , made direct reference to Boone in their writing. Historians will question Morgan's speculation. Another balanced book that situates Boone in the complex world of the transAppalachian west and Native American history is John M· ack Faragher' s Daniel Boone: Be Life and Legend of an American Pioneer. Even so, one must give tremendous credit to Morgan for breathing new life into a man whose life is already legendary . And if Morgan' s literary analysis at the end of the book seems speculative , the hard \ vork of this literary scholar is interesting to ponder. With his book, Morgan has provided popular readers and scholars with a fantastic new look at Boone, one th: it will probably remain the definitive biography of tile frontier man for vears to corie. Mark A. Nicholas University of St.' Thomas, Houston Robert M. Owens. Mr. Jderson' s Hammer: William Henry Harrison and tbe Origi} is ofAmerkan Indian Policy. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2007. 344 pages. ISBN: 9780806138428 cloth), 534.95. William Henry Harrison, the ninth president of the United States, was perh·aps one of our least memorable presidents, serving onlv thirtvone days of his tenn. In Mr.Jefersoi: s Hammer: William Henry Harrison and tbe Origins of American Indian Policy, Robert M. Owens argues that Harrisons importance lies in his influence on what would become the American Midwest and, : is t11(governor of the Indiana Territory and the federal government's 1 /...' S·* 11% 24 HUm* H[ I. 1.[ AM HLNRY HARRISON Indian agent in the Northwest Territory from 1800 to 1814,on Anicric· an expansion. Owens argues that tlie key to understanding Harrison is his connection to the Virginia gentry. I Iarrison' s father was a signer of the Declaration of Independence, a governor of Virginia,and a descendant of some of the leading farnilics of-tlje Old Dominion. TIroughout his life of public service, atid in his political and social paternalism and gented style of living, Harrison aspired to behave as : 1 Virginia gentleman. Moreover, before 1814 Harrison also advocated nvo significant concerns of Virginians: acquiring Indian lands for American expansion and continuing the Sl, ive systelli. 84 OHIO VALLEY II] STORY BOOK REVIEWS L Harrison's role as an Indian negotiator , charged with carrying out Thomas Jefferson's Indian policy, began with his military service under Anthony Wayne in Ohio. Wayne's military success against the Indians opened the central and southern portions of the present state of Ohio to white settlement. Harrison admiredWayne and attempted to emulate his military success later in his career,pursuing a similarly aggressive policy of Indian land cessions in the Northwest Territory. Harrison served as the secretary of the Northwest Territory under Arthur St. Clair, as territorial delegate to Congress, and from 1800 to 1813 as governor of the Indiana Territory, Owens' s story culminates ' in the War of 1812,which successfully pitted Harrison' s western troops against Can· adian and British troops and their Indian allies, led by the Shawnee leader Tccumsch and his brother Tenskwatawa,the Prophet. Harrison was ati ardent Jeffersonian Republican, and he actively pursued Jefferson...