U. S. HiStory • Trans- Rohrbough “the definitive history of the subject. Nothing approaches it in the scope of its coverage. i can think of no other book more T frequently cited . . . on the conquest, settlement, and develop- Appalachian ment of the region between the Appalachians and the Great r Plains. [it is] the work of a master historian totally in control a of his craft.” n —Andrew Cayton, Distinguished Professor of History, Miami University Frontier s The first American frontier lay just beyond the Appalachian Mountains - and along the Gulf coast. Here successive groups of pioneers built new A societies and developed new institutions to cope with life in the wilderness. In this thorough revision of his classic account, Malcolm J. Rohrbough tells p People, Societies, the dramatic story of these men and women from the first Kentucky settle- p ments to the closing of the frontier. and Institutions, Rather than follow a territory to state approach, Rohrbough divides a his narrative into major time periods designed to establish categories of description and analysis. Within this framework, he presents case stud- l 1775-1850 a ies that focus on the county, the town, the community, and the family, as well as politics and urbanization. He addresses as well Spanish, French, c and Native American traditions, and the anomalous presence of African • h slaves and the somewhat shadowy presence of women in the making of Malcolm J. Rohrbough this story. i a Now in its third, completely revised and updated edition, Rohrbough’s magisterial study of the trans-Appalachian frontier is sure to find a new n generation of readers interested in the history of America’s first frontier. MAlcolM J. RoHRbouGH is Professor of History at the university F of Iowa and editor (with Walter Nugent) of Indiana’s series A History of the Trans-Appalachian Frontier. He is author of the prize-winning book r Days of Gold: The California Gold Rush and the American Nation. o n A History of the Trans-Appalachian Frontier • • t i e INDIANA r University Press Bloomington & Indianapolis INDIANA http://iupress.indiana.edu Third Edition 1-800-842-6796 Trans-Appalachian Frontier A History of the Trans-Appalachian Frontier (cid:2) Walter Nugent and Malcolm Rohrbough, eds. Trans- Appalachian Frontier (cid:3) People, Societies, and Institutions, 1775–1850 Third Edition Malcolm J. Rohrbough (cid:3) Indiana University Press Bloomington and Indianapolis This book is a publication of Indiana University Press 601 North Morton Street Bloomington, IN 47404-3797 USA http://iupress.indiana.edu Telephone orders 800-842-6796 Fax orders 812-855-7931 Orders by e-mail [email protected] © 2008 by Malcolm J. Rohrbough All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The Association of American University Presses’ Resolution on Permissions constitutes the only exception to this prohibition. The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984. Manufactured in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Rohrbough, Malcolm J. Trans-Appalachian frontier : people, societies, and institutions, 1775–1850 / Malcolm J. Rohrbough. – 3rd ed. p. cm. – (A history of the trans-Appalachian frontier) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-253-34932-3 (cloth) ISBN-13: 978-0-253-21932-9 (pbk.) 1. Northwest, Old—History–1775-1865. 2. Frontier and pioneer life—Northwest, Old. 3. Southwest, Old—History. 4. Frontier and pioneer life—Southwest, Old. 5. Appalachian Region— History. 6. Frontier and pioneer life—Appalachian Region. I. Title. F484.3.R64 2007 977’.02–dc22 2007011632 1 2 3 4 5 13 12 11 10 09 08 (cid:2) Dedicated to the pioneers of a new generation: Julia Cate Devon Charlie Frances Maya Christina Eva Dylan and to the scouts of the twenty-first century: Lucas and Cyrus (cid:3) (cid:3) Contents Acknowledgments xi Abbreviations xiii A Note on Citations, Quotations, Maps, and Place Names xv Introduction 1 Part I. Across the Mountains 17 1. 22 The Struggle for Security 2. 50 The Search for Stability 3. 82 Security and Stability in the Territory Northwest of the Ohio Part II. The Widening Frontier, 1795–1815 113 4. 121 The Reach of Government and the Authority of Law Spread across the Western Country 5. 154 Diverse Economies Moving toward Commercial Ends 6. 188 Many Varied Societies Emerge across the Western Country (cid:2) viii Contens Part III. The First Great Migration, 1815–1830 223 7. 233 Across the Old Northwest and into Missouri 8. 274 The Flowering of the Cotton Frontier Part IV. The Enduring Frontiers 311 9. 316 Michigan: The Great Lakes Frontier 10. 351 Florida: A Sectional Frontier 11. 388 Arkansas: A Frontier More West than South Part V. The Second Great Migration, 1830–1850 419 12. 423 The New Counties of Alabama and Mississippi: A Frontier More South than West 13. 455 The Last Frontier of the Old Northwest: Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin Part VI. The Trans-Appalachian West and the Nation 489 14. 492 Villages, Towns, and Cities Spread across the Western Country (cid:3) Contents ix 15. 528 Changing Political Patterns across Three Generations 16. 556 The Trans-Appalachian West and the Nation Notes 583 Bibliography 637 Index 656