Books.org participates in affiliate programs including Bookshop.org and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.
Overview
In the early 1800s, when control of the Old Northwest had not yet been assured to the United States, the Shawnee leaders Tecumseh and his brother Tenskwatawa, the Shawnee Prophet, led an intertribal movement culminating at the Battle of Tippecanoe and the Battle of the Thames. Historians have portrayed Tecumseh, the war leader, as the key figure in forging the intertribal confederacy. In this full-length biography of Tenskwatawa, R. David Edmunds shows that, to the contrary, the Shawnee Prophet initiated and for much of the period dominated the movement, providing a set of religious beliefs and ceremonies that revived the tribes' fading power and cohesion.
Synopsis
In the early 1800s, when control of the Old Northwest had not yet been assured to the United States, the Shawnee leaders Tecumseh and his brother Tenskwatawa, the Shawnee Prophet, led an intertribal movement culminating at the Battle of Tippecanoe and the Battle of the Thames. Historians have portrayed Tecumseh, the war leader, as the key figure in forging the intertribal confederacy. In this full-length biography of Tenskwatawa, R. David Edmunds shows that, to the contrary, the Shawnee Prophet initiated and for much of the period dominated the movement, providing a set of religious beliefs and ceremonies that revived the tribes' fading power and cohesion.
Editorials
Montana: The Magazine of Western History
"This volume is a valuable contribution to the history of Indian-white relations. . . . [Edmunds] is adept in portraying the circumstances among the midwestern tribes which inspired the transformation of Lalawethika, the village drunkard, into Tenskwatawa, the Prophet. . . . It is all presented in a smooth and felicitous style which makes unobtrusive the solid scholarship on which it is based."—William T. Hagan, Montana: The Magazine of Western History
— William T. Hagan
Journal of the West
"A splendid biographical study of Tenskwatawa, the Shawnee Holy Man who is best known as the brother of Tecumseh . . . Based upon extensive and meticulous research, this biography is a joy to read. . . . The author convincingly establishes the critical and pre-eminent role of Tenskwatawa as the leader of the Indian resistance to American expansion before 1810."—W. David Baird, Journal of the West
— W. David Baird
Pacific Historical Review
"A splendid biographical study of Tenskwatawa, the Shawnee Holy Man who is best known as the brother of Tecumseh . . . Based upon extensive and meticulous research, this biography is a joy to read. . . . The author convincingly establishes the critical and pre-eminent role of Tenskwatawa as the leader of the Indian resistance to American expansion before 1810."—W. David Baird, Journal of the West
— Herman J. Viola