God Gave Us This Country: Tekamthi and the First American Civil War

by Bil Gilbert

The Shawnee chief Tekamthi, traditionally known as Tecumseh, was arguably the greatest of all Native American military leaders. This is the story of his life and the devastating warfare that was the Indians' last realistic chance to defeat the white man.

Genres: Biography, Native American, History

369 pages, Paperback

First published July 5, 1989

Reviews

[Michael Duane Robbins · Rating 4 out of 5]

The casual reader might be surprised at the number of Native American tribal names that have been appropriated as place names by white people, such as Miami, Winnebago, Ottawa, Delaware, Iowa etc. A friend has pointed out it's the same in our state of Washington with places such as Hoqium and our own Puyallup.
The grand sweep of this story covers not only the life of Tecamthi or Tecumseh and his people, the Shawnee; it also encompasses the broad spectrum of tribes, most now reduced or extinct, while covering their slow road to that destination. The history of the Old Northwest territories in the eastern United States also trots out Washington, Jefferson, Anthony Wayne, Arthur St. Clair, William Henry Harrison and George Rogers Clarke to take their bows.
Despite its lavish and largely sympathetic treatment, the author tends to frequently refer to the 'Indians' as savages; that is either be an attempt to lead the narrative through its 18th & 19th century white man's framework, or the times he was writing this in (the 1980's). Readers can draw their own conclusions.
This history is best summed up by the author in a concluding paragraph: "During his lifetime Tecamthi was remarkably adept at keeping whites on the defensive by probing at soft, tender places in their consciences. Repeatedly he made American and Canadian officials squirm as he catalogued the hypocrisies and deceits of the whites, the ways in which, by their own fine civilized standards, they had cheated and abused the Indians. Thereafter a central theme in the Tecumseh histories and legends was that the great Shawnee patriot had made a case for his people that was so true and logical as to be beyond rebuttal......I also have the notion that the manner in which Tecumseh has worked on the imagination of white Americans may represent the great triumph and ultimate revenge of Tecamthi."

[Brian Andersen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was published in 1989. I ran across it by accident and assumed it might be bad. I felt I’d read every modern book about Tecumseh and had never heard of this one so I figured how good could it be? It turns out “pretty good”! In fact before I finish reading my library copy I want ahead and bought a copy of the Internet since it was so beautifully sourced I wanted to look into some of these other books or closely. Aside from some odd language considered offensive by modern ears (red man) and the terrible title and cover itself, I feel this book delves into some interesting topics and observations. It is certainly more sympathetic towards Tecumseh than William Henry Harrison. But that’s OK, despite my affection for William Henry Harrison, deep in my heart I know Tecumseh was the real hero of that era and the person we should all strive to be. The final chapter itself could be a dissertation on Americas treatment and perception of the Indian.

[Garry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fascinating book of American Indian history and history of the interaction and warfare between Westward advancing Whites and the tribes of American Indians. Much detail and nuance in the telling of the story of the life of great Indian chief Tecumseh.

[Erik · Rating 5 out of 5]

The very best of the Tekamthi/Techumseh biographies. Difficult to put down.

[Benjamin C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tales I've known, but not in as great depth, since a grade schooler in Indiana. great breakdowns

[Jordan Fitch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Powerful insight into a neglected but pivotal aspect of America’s first decades.