Who were the signers? Why do they matter?For official US-Indian treaties, the federal government authorized commissioners to negotiate with Indigenous nations. Commissioners had the discretion to involve whomever they wanted in the treaty making process. Between 1778 and 1871, approximately 2,300 men signed indian treaties as representatives of the United States. Signer Myths Because so many settlers and pioneers benefited from the US aquisition of Indigenous resources, the American Myth can sell the simple idea that the entire enterprise of westward expansion was undertaken just for them. In this spurious story, treaties were merely the paperwork that validated an unstoppable historical force. Men who signed the treaties, then, were only filling bureaucratic functions, chosen as if at random at the very moment when a major colonialist power acquired a continent's natural resources. For more background read "Settler Colonialism and the Elimination of the Native" (Patrick Wolfe, Journal of Genocide Research, December 2006) here. Motivations for ExpansionIn fact, the men who signed treaties for the US represented behind-the-scenes interests that drove westward expansion: land speculators, mining, timber and transportation companies, office holders and military officers - all of whom had a personal stake in the government's acquisition of resources. Treaties -- as the moments when a continent's natural resources became property -- were too important to leave unattended.
Who were the signers? Why do they matter?For official US-Indian treaties, the federal government authorized commissioners to negotiate with Indigenous nations. Commissioners had the discretion to involve whomever they wanted in the treaty making process. Between 1778 and 1871, approximately 2,300 men signed indian treaties as representatives of the United States.
Because so many settlers and pioneers benefited from the US aquisition of Indigenous resources, the American Myth can sell the simple idea that the entire enterprise of westward expansion was undertaken just for them. In this spurious story, treaties were merely the paperwork that validated an unstoppable historical force. Men who signed the treaties, then, were only filling bureaucratic functions, chosen as if at random at the very moment when a major colonialist power acquired a continent's natural resources.
Motivations for ExpansionIn fact, the men who signed treaties for the US represented behind-the-scenes interests that drove westward expansion: land speculators, mining, timber and transportation companies, office holders and military officers - all of whom had a personal stake in the government's acquisition of resources. Treaties -- as the moments when a continent's natural resources became property -- were too important to leave unattended.
As a group, the treaty signers shaped US-Indian policy, and benefited personally from it. They got in on the ground floor in an explosively expanding property system that continues to shape the continent today. In their business networks and their social, political and family ties we find a reliable picture of the assumptions, motivations and mechanisms that truly drove US expansion. Below you will find: An indexed database containing brief biographical entries for hundreds of treaty signersInformation on treaty-signer involvement in the judicial branch of the government.Narratives about the networks that connected signers to one another and the impact of those networks on US-Indian relations.
As a group, the treaty signers shaped US-Indian policy, and benefited personally from it. They got in on the ground floor in an explosively expanding property system that continues to shape the continent today. In their business networks and their social, political and family ties we find a reliable picture of the assumptions, motivations and mechanisms that truly drove US expansion.
Below you will find:
Signers THE US TREATY SIGNERS DATABASE Approximately 2,300 men represented the US at treaties with Indigenous nations, signing the documents as commissioners and witnesses. Many signed more than one treaty; they provided a total of about 4,500 signatures. The US Treaty Signers Database currently contains information on more than 1,600 signers, who account for 85% of all the signatures on all of the official US-Indian treaties. To find the record for any US treaty signer, start by clicking the index to the last names above. Actual Name of Signer Biographical information Treaties signed by that individual Signature and title from each treaty Sources of information Links to additional informationMISSING A NAME? SIGNERS vs. SIGNATURESIf you can't find a signature, it might be because...1. The signature might be a misspelling of the signer's name: In 1904, Charles Kappler compiled information on all official US-Indian treaties for Congress. Many lists of treaty signers -- in scholarly journals or on the Internet -- come from this source. Unfortunately, the names in Kappler are often misspelled, inconsistently spelled, or garbled. If a name does not appear in the Index, simply search the site for the signature as you have it. It will be linked to the appropriate signer name.2. The signer you're looking for might represent an Indigenous nation: Many signers from Indigenous nations had names that follow English conventions. This is often the case with interpreters. To learn more about Indigenous signers (who have their own section on this website) see the research guide here.
THE US TREATY SIGNERS DATABASE
Approximately 2,300 men represented the US at treaties with Indigenous nations, signing the documents as commissioners and witnesses. Many signed more than one treaty; they provided a total of about 4,500 signatures.
The US Treaty Signers Database currently contains information on more than 1,600 signers, who account for 85% of all the signatures on all of the official US-Indian treaties.
To find the record for any US treaty signer, start by clicking the index to the last names above.
If you can't find a signature, it might be because...
1. The signature might be a misspelling of the signer's name: In 1904, Charles Kappler compiled information on all official US-Indian treaties for Congress. Many lists of treaty signers -- in scholarly journals or on the Internet -- come from this source. Unfortunately, the names in Kappler are often misspelled, inconsistently spelled, or garbled. If a name does not appear in the Index, simply search the site for the signature as you have it. It will be linked to the appropriate signer name.
2. The signer you're looking for might represent an Indigenous nation: Many signers from Indigenous nations had names that follow English conventions. This is often the case with interpreters. To learn more about Indigenous signers (who have their own section on this website) see the research guide here.
For Information on US treaty signers in the court system, click here
SIGNER NETWORKS: THE MOTIVATIONS OF US TREATY SIGNERSIn the rapid expansion of the US across North America - according to the American Myth - settlers were the heroes and the primary benificiaries. But behind the scenes, more narrow special interests shaped US-Indian policy. Learn about some of the networks that connected US treaty signers and motivated the acquisition of Indigenous resources.
