Thomas Jefferson Signs the Non-Intercourse Act, Setting Out for the First Time the Government’s Official Policy to “Civilize” the Native Tribes

This is the first signed example of this 1792 Act that we have had, and a search of public sale records going back many decades fails to turn up even one other

 

It also sought to “promote civilization among the friendly Indian tribes” so as to “secure the continuance of their friendship”, and for the first time threatened criminal penalty against those who would challenge the primacy of the government in negotiating treaties and land purchases

As the Europeans settled in the New World and expanded their footprint, they came into increasing contact with the natives there. This was a rare example of the meeting, not of two neighboring or distant countries, but of the clashing of distinct civilizations that had evolved separate from each other, with absolutely no contact. When the King of Great Britain sends his forces to combat France, this does not reveal a clash of civilizations, but contentions within civilizations. This had enormous consequences for the native populations. Few U.S. leaders took more of an interest in this than Thomas Jefferson.

Thomas Jefferson’s presidency would be a formative one in the interaction between native and European-based civilizations. He would send West two young men – Meriwether Lewis and William Clark – to find a water route to the other side of the continent, but he would also give other instructions. Learn what you can about the native populations, Jefferson instructed, and establish relations. He entertained tribal leaders sent back east by Lewis and was as close to an expert in this field as any of his contemporaries.

The Nonintercourse Act (also known as the Indian Intercourse Act or the Indian Nonintercourse Act) is the collective name given to statutes beginning in 1790 that regulated relations between the native tribes and the new but growing American nation.

George Washington, in 1790, spelled out the guiding principles of this effort. He said, “I am not uninformed that the six Nations have been led into some difficulties with respect to the sale of their lands since the peace. But I must inform you that these evils arose before the present government of the United States was established, when the separate States and individuals under their authority, undertook to treat with the Indian tribes respecting the sale of their lands. But the case is now entirely altered. The general Government only has the power, to treat with the Indian Nations, and any treaty formed and held without its authority will not be binding. Here then is the security for the remainder of your lands.”

The first act, passed that same year, was the first effort by the U.S. to stop people from taking Native Americans’ property. This early effort was ultimately unsuccessful. When it expired two years later, Congress and the Administration set about fixing its shortcomings. There were two main pushes here. The first was guaranteeing the sanctity of native lands and protecting the federal government’s primacy as the only entity to purchase or dispose of those lands. The second was an effort to bring the natives under the American fold in the social sphere by providing them with modern agriculture techniques and livestock and grain to plant.

In 1792, Jefferson took a central role in the creation of this new bill that was intended to fix the original. The old bill did not stop illicit purchases. A stronger mechanism was needed, one with criminal penalties. And he sought to reassure the native tribes that this bill was being done in their best interests. You can see his frame of mind in a letter Jefferson sent to President Washington after the passage of the bill in 1793, enclosing two documents he felt ought to be provided to “each tribe of Indians whose circumstances may call for such a manifestation.” The first was a Letter of Protection of the ordinary tenor, except that it declares a protection of the lands as well as the persons & other property, & would be signed by the President under the great seal. The second contained extracts from the late law of the U.S. and Jefferson made the point that: “1. Those paragraphs which would shew to the Indians that our laws will punish injuries done them as if done to ourselves. 2. Those paragraphs which may answer the purpose of directing those on the spot, when any injury is committed, how & where they are to proceed.”

Examples of the Act’s provisions include: 1. “That no person shall be permitted to carry on any trade or intercourse with the Indian tribes, without a license under the hand and seal of the superintendent of the department, or of such other person, as the President of the United States shall authorize…”; 2. “That if any such citizen or inhabitant shall make a settlement on lands belonging to any Indian tribe, or shall survey such lands, or designate their boundaries, by marking trees, or otherwise, for the purpose of settlement, he shall forfeit a sum not exceeding one thousand dollars, nor less than one hundred dollars, and suffer imprisonment not exceeding twelve months…”; and 3. “That no person shall be permitted to purchase any horse of an Indian, or of any white man in the Indian territory, without special license for that purpose…”

Congress eventually incorporated Jefferson’s idea to impose criminal penalties on those who attempted to purchase Indian lands without proper authorization.

Perhaps more importantly in the long term, they added a section, the first time such language had appeared in any American law, that directly addressed the more social aspect of the clash of civilizations. Section 9 introduced for the first time language intended to, in their words, civilize the native tribes. “And be it further enacted, That in order to promote civilization among the friendly Indian tribes, and to secure the continuance of their friendship, it shall and may be lawful for the President of the United States, to cause them to be furnished with useful domestic animals, and implements of husbandry, and also to furnish them with goods or money, in such proportions, as he shall judge proper, and to appoint such persons, from time to time, as temporary agents, to reside among the Indians.”

Document signed, three full pages, March 1, 1793, signed by Jefferson as Secretary of State, being “An Act to Regulate the Trade and Intercourse with the Indian Tribes.”