The Treaty of St. Louis of 1804 was concluded by William Henry Harrison on behalf of the United States of America and five Sauk and Meskwaki chiefs led by Quashquame. The treaty transferred a huge area of land between the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers from the Sauk and Meskwaki to the United States. In return, the Sauk and Meskwaki received a lump-sum payment of $2234.50 and an annuity of $1000. This payment was far less than the value of the land. The signatory chiefs were not authorized to cede land by their tribes and probably did not understand the treaty. The Sauk and Meskwaki deeply resented the treaty and considered it invalid. It alienated them from the United States and encouraged them to ally with Britain, contributing to their support for the British during the later War of 1812.
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- ⭐ Core Definition: Treaty of St. Louis (1804)
- Treaty of St. Louis (1804) in the context of Black Hawk War
Treaty of St. Louis (1804) in the context of Black Hawk War
The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans led by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis (Fox), and Kickapoos, known as the "British Band", crossed the Mississippi River, to the U.S. state of Illinois, from Iowa Indian Territory in April 1832. Black Hawk's motives were ambiguous, but he was apparently hoping to reclaim land that was taken over by the United States in the disputed 1804 Treaty of St. Louis.
U.S. officials, convinced that the British Band was hostile, mobilized a frontier militia and opened fire on a delegation from the Native Americans on May 14, 1832. Black Hawk responded by successfully attacking the militia at the Battle of Stillman's Run. He led his band to a secure location in what is now southern Wisconsin and was pursued by U.S. forces. Meanwhile, other Native Americans conducted raids against forts and colonies largely unprotected with the absence of the militia. Some Ho-Chunk and Potawatomi warriors took part in these raids, although most tribe members tried to avoid the conflict. The Menominee and Dakota tribes, already at odds with the Sauks and Meskwakis, supported the United States.
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