"Wild and Intractable:" The Buchanan Administration & Native Americans
While James Buchanan may be best remembered for his inability to stop the Civil War, not much is remembered about his policy towards Native Americans (Part 1 of 2)
By LancasterHistory
By Carsten Brodbeck, LancasterHistory Intern
The 15th President
James Buchanan was elected President of the United States in 1856, and served as President from 1857-1861. Although he is mostly known for his inability to stop the Civil War, Buchanan was involved in many other important decisions, particularly those of land acquisition.
"Historical and Statistical Information respecting the History, Condition, and Prospects of the Indian Tribes of the United States." "Historical and Statistical Information respecting the History, Condition, and Prospects of the Indian Tribes of the United States." (1857) by Henry R. SchoolcraftLancasterHistory
American Indian Country in the 1850s
By 1857, white settlers forcibly removed most Native peoples from the agriculturally rich eastern woodlands and into the Great Plains, destabilizing the region and creating tension amongst different tribes. Tribes competed against each other--and settlers--for limited resources.
Presidential Opinion
In his first annual address to Congress 1857, President Buchanan described Native Americans as “wild, intractable, and difficult to control.” Buchanan desired Indigenous lands in the west, and wanted Native nations to surrender their sovereignty.
The Ponca
The Ponca are a midwestern Native nation. The Ponca were living in what is today the state of Nebraska when they first came into contact with European invaders. In the 1850s, the Ponca were a relatively small nation, having only 800 members.
The Pawnee
Historically, the Pawnee Nation lived in Nebraska and northern Kansas, farming and hunting buffalo. However, an influx of Native refugees and white settlers in the middle of the nineteenth century threatened the Pawnee's traditional lifestyle.
A Struggle for Survival
In the 1850s, many Great Plains Native peoples came into conflict with one another over buffalo. The diet of the Ponca, Pawnee, and their neighbors were reliant upon buffalo meat. This conflict could mean struggle or survival for the tribes involved.
LIFE Photo Collection
Contested Territory
By the 1850s, white settlers poured into the region, lured by both farmable land and the spread of slavery. Kansas became a flashpoint for the nation's struggle with slavery. Would Kansas become a slave or free state? Settlers also came into frequent contact with Native Peoples.
Open Hositilies
Hostilities between the Ponca and the Pawnee reached a boiling point. When the Ponca and Pawnee hunting parties came into direct competition for the same buffalo herd in 1855, a bloody conflict ensued. The Ponca overwhelmingly defeated the Pawnee.
After the Battle
The Ponca’s victory over the Pawnee in 1855 made their situation on the Great Plains even more dangerous. Open warfare with the Pawnee Nation was now a real possibility. As the 1850s came to an end, the Ponca would have to look elsewhere for protection.
Visit LancasterHistory to learn more about President James Buchanan and plan your visit to President James Buchanan's Wheatland.
Special thanks to The Hershey Story for permission to use images of artifacts.
Information found in:
"The Ponca Tribe" by James H. Howard and Peter LeClaire.
"An Aboriginal Party" from the Buffalo Courier.
"Limited History of the Ponca" by the Ponca Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma.
"The Indian Delegations" from The Washington Union.
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