Jefferson and the Indians - The Tragic Fate of the First Americans

In this landmark history, Anthony Wallace shows us the tortured duality of Thomas Jefferson's attitude toward the first Americans. Impelled by the necessity of expanding his agrarian republic, Jefferson -excavator of ancient Indian burial mounds, chronicler of the eloquence of Americans native peoples, and mourner of their tragic fate-became adept at putting a philosophical gloss on his policy of encroachment, threats of war, and forced land cessions. This compelling narrative, lavishly illustrated with scenes and portraits from the period, adds a troubled dimension to one of the mort enigmatic figures of American history, and to one of its must shameful legacies.