3.12 Movement in the Early Republic

Expansion into Western Lands

After the Revolution, American settlers pushed westward into the Trans-Appalachian West, straining relations with American Indian nations. The Northwest Ordinance (1787) established a process for territories to become states and banned slavery in the Northwest Territory, but it also accelerated conflict over land as settlers and Indigenous peoples competed for territory.

Resistance and Conflict

American Indian groups, such as those in the Northwest Confederacy led by figures like Little Turtle, resisted encroachment, winning early victories before defeat at the Battle of Fallen Timbers (1794). The subsequent Treaty of Greenville forced Indigenous nations to cede large amounts of land in the Ohio Valley, reflecting the new government's limited but growing power over frontier expansion.

Debates over Federal Power on the Frontier

Frontier unrest tested the new federal government. The Jay Treaty and Pinckney's Treaty addressed British posts in the Northwest and Spanish control of the Mississippi/New Orleans, easing westward movement. Meanwhile, events like the Whiskey Rebellion (1794) showed how western settlers resisted federal authority, prompting debates over how much power the government should exercise over migration and land use.

Key terms

Northwest Ordinance (1787)

Law establishing how territories could become states and banning slavery in the Northwest Territory.

Battle of Fallen Timbers (1794)

U.S. victory over the Northwest Confederacy, leading to major Indigenous land cessions.

Treaty of Greenville (1795)

Agreement forcing American Indian nations to cede large portions of the Ohio Valley after Fallen Timbers.

Pinckney's Treaty (1795)

Treaty with Spain granting the U.S. navigation rights on the Mississippi River and access to New Orleans.

Whiskey Rebellion (1794)

Uprising by western Pennsylvania farmers against a federal excise tax, testing federal authority.

Try an AP-style question

Westward migration after the Revolution led to…

1. the end of farming
2. peaceful Native cooperation
3. fewer settlers in the West
4. conflict with Native nations