"Indians Utilizing Strategy of Armed Resistance" by Gregory Ewans Dowd Article Review
The article Indians Utilizing Strategy of Armed Resistance is written by one of the most prominent modern American historians – Gregory Ewans Dowd. It tells the reader about armed attempts to stop the American expansion performed by the Indians at the beginning of the 19th century. Its purpose is to describe the most distinctive Indian figures in their struggle for native land, as well as to represent various causes of the conflict and the reasons of its results. Dowd presents various theses that show the reader that the war between the Native Americans and white conquerors was inevitable. The author tells about the contradictive essence of the "plan of civilization" of the indigenous population, which contained deception and manipulation over Indian chiefs. Another important point was religious difference. Indians did not want to adopt Christianity. They emphasized on the contradictory fact that it was white people who killed Jesus, so how can they worship him? Dowd also creates line of argument concerning the causes of the failure of the Indian rebellion. One of the main problems was their discord, sometimes even in religious aspects. They were also seriously outnumbered in the eastern states of America.
The second article on the list is called Indians Utilizing the Strategy of Accommodation. Its author is a famous professor of history Theda Perdue, who is known as one of the best experts on the history of the indigenous population of the southeastern USA. It tells the reader about some Indian tribes that tried to coexist peacefully with white people. Theda Perdue proves that the life of the Native Americans who reconciled with the white conquerors was better that of those rebellious tribes, however, it also was far from pleasant. Again, there are various theses that totally serve the purpose – to show the fate of the Cherokees and other Indians, who chose the strategy of accommodation. The author describes such aspects of the coexistence, as the different role of women in two cultures, unequal share of benefits among the Cherokees, etc.. She also deliberately depicts the history of the cooperation of the Indians and the European conquerors and by means of theses and arguments brings the reader to the outcome of this process – the establishment of the Cherokee republic.
Both authors succeeded in presenting the problems, as they attach various logical arguments and deliberately represent its main aspects. Dowd and Perdue predominantly use evidence from the secondary sources such as articles or books, nonetheless, they also use some citations, taken from the documents or letters of the described time. It makes their works more valid and sound, as those are serious evidence. Finally, a slight trace of sympathy for the indigenous Americans may be observed in both articles. Especially, it is expressed by Dowd in his description and positive evaluation of Shawnee Prophet Tecumseh. Nevertheless, both authors are rather objective as they deliberately describe positive and negative features of …
