History of Indiana - Indiana Territory

Indiana Territory

Main article: Indiana Territory See also: History of slavery in Indiana, Northwest Territory, and Tecumseh's War

In 1785, the Northwest Indian War began. In an attempt to end the native rebellion, the Miami town of Kekionga was attacked unsuccessfully by General Josiah Harmar and Northwest Territory Governor Arthur St. Clair. St. Clair's Defeat is the worst defeat of the U.S. Army by Native Americans in history, leaving almost the entire army dead or captured. The defeat led to the appointment of General "Mad Anthony" Wayne who organized the Legion of the United States and defeated a Native American force at the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794. In 1795, the Treaty of Greenville was signed and a small part of eastern Indiana was opened for settlement. Fort Miami at Kekionga was occupied by the United States, who rebuilt it as Fort Wayne. After the treaty, the powerful Miami nation considered themselves allies with the United States. The war ended hostilities with the Native Americans, leaving them victorious in 31 of the 37 recorded incidents involving white settlers during the 18th century.

The Northwest Territory was formed by the Congress of the Confederation on July 13, 1787, and included all land between the Appalachian Mountains, the Mississippi River, the Great Lakes and the Ohio River. This single territory became the states of Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and part of eastern Minnesota. The act established an administration to oversee the territory and had the land surveyed in accordance with The Land Ordinance of 1785. At the time the territory was created, there were only two American settlements in what would become Indiana: Vincennes and Clark's Grant. The population of the northwest included fewer than 5,000 Europeans. The Native American population was estimated to be near 20,000, but may have been as high as 75,000.

On July 4, 1800, the Indiana Territory was established out of Northwest Territory in preparation for Ohio's statehood. The Indiana Land Company, which still held claim to Indiana, had been dissolved by a United States Supreme Court decision in 1798. The name Indiana meant "Land of the Indians", and referred to the fact that most of the area north of the Ohio River was still inhabited by Native Americans. (Kentucky, South of the Ohio River, had been a traditional hunting ground for tribes that resided north of the river, and early American settlers in Kentucky referred to the North bank as the land of the Indians.) Although the company's claim was extinguished, Congress used their name for the new territory. The Indiana Territory contained present day Indiana,Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and part of Minnesota. Those areas were separated out in 1805 and 1809. The first Governor of the Territory was William Henry Harrison, who served from 1800 until 1813. Harrison County was named in honor of Harrison, who later become the ninth President of The United States. He was succeeded by Thomas Posey who served from 1813 until 1816.

The first capital was established in Vincennes where it remained for thirteen years. After the territory was reorganized in 1809, the legislature made plans to move the capital to Corydon to be more centralized with the population. Corydon was established in 1808 on land donated by William Henry Harrison. The new capitol building was finished in 1813 and the government quickly relocated following the outbreak of war on the frontier.

As the population of the territory grew, so did the people's exercising of their freedoms. In 1809, the territory was granted permission to fully elect its own legislature for the first time. Before that, Governor Harrison appointed the legislature. Although Article 6 of the Northwest Ordinance had prohibited slavery, it had existed since French rule and was then the major issue in the territory. The anti-slavery party won a strong majority in the first election. Governor Harrison found himself at odds with the new legislature which proceeded to overturn the indenturing and pro-slavery laws he had enacted. Slavery remained the defining issue in the state for the decades to follow.