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Sins of the Founding Father: George Washington, the Indigenous Tribes, and the Decisions that Shaped America’s Future
From the bestselling author of Astoria, Young Washington, and an upcoming book about the legendary Shawnee Chief Tecumseh comes a startling, revisionist look at the earliest days of the United States, its first president, and the policies that laid the groundwork for the political and racial divisiveness of today.
A violent clash that sparked outrage and division. A president governed by self-interest and unfettered by the limits of executive power. Fierce debate over the status of non-white people. A Constitution under threat. The crises that have plagued America in recent years are largely viewed as unprecedented events. But they’re not—far from it. The country was first rocked by these seemingly modern-day troubles more than two centuries ago, when the United States was in its infancy and the ink on its governing document was barely dry. At the center of it was our history’s hero, George Washington.
In the fall of 1791, Washington, just two years into his presidency, was unsatisfied with where the country was going—or not going. Worried about Revolutionary War debt owed to France and an unsettled frontier that left the fledgling country vulnerable to European attack, Washington was determined to expand westward. Through a series of increasingly heavy-handed treaties with Indigenous tribes, the U.S. government claimed bigger and bigger swaths of the vast wilderness west of the Appalachian Mountains. The tribes, many of which rejected the notion that their ancient homelands were for sale, pushed back, hard. They refused to cede territory and launched raids against white settlers who, at the government’s urging, poured into traditionally Indigenous lands. Looking out for the nation’s interests, and his own—years earlier, he had claimed 30,000 acres of this land for himself—Washington decided it was time to act. After a series of small military efforts to subdue the tribes had little effect, he sent a large battalion of soldiers to a compound of Indigenous villages in the Ohio Valley, rich and fertile land that the country, and its president, was hungry for.
The expedition was a disaster for the Americans troops. Some 700 soldiers were killed in a surprise attack in the pre-dawn hours of November 4, 1791. In a symbolic gesture that spoke volumes, Indigenous warriors crammed dirt—the very soil Americans wanted for their own—into the eyes and mouths of their victims. It would be the most devastating loss at the hands of Native Americans in the military’s history, resulting in three times more casualties than at Custer’s Last Stand, a century later.
The ignominious defeat in Ohio was an unacceptable debacle for both the president and Congress, which demanded answers. This prompted a series of controversial debates that eerily foreshadowed questions we struggle with today. How to investigate a president? How much power and autonomy does he have? What is the role of the military during national crises? This all but forgotten battle was a defining moment, with repercussions that echo down the years. It exposed gaping holes in the Constitution and shined a spotlight on the power of the U.S. presidency. Most tragically, it marked the hardening of an attitude toward Native Americans that would allow the U.S. federal government to take over 95 percent of Indigenous lands in the next hundred years. Today, we are living with the consequences.
Both a gripping wilderness narrative and an astute commentary on American politics and history, Sins of the Founding Father takes a fresh and nuanced look our country’s earliest days and its beloved but deeply flawed Founding Father.
A violent clash that sparked outrage and division. A president governed by self-interest and unfettered by the limits of executive power. Fierce debate over the status of non-white people. A Constitution under threat. The crises that have plagued America in recent years are largely viewed as unprecedented events. But they’re not—far from it. The country was first rocked by these seemingly modern-day troubles more than two centuries ago, when the United States was in its infancy and the ink on its governing document was barely dry. At the center of it was our history’s hero, George Washington.
In the fall of 1791, Washington, just two years into his presidency, was unsatisfied with where the country was going—or not going. Worried about Revolutionary War debt owed to France and an unsettled frontier that left the fledgling country vulnerable to European attack, Washington was determined to expand westward. Through a series of increasingly heavy-handed treaties with Indigenous tribes, the U.S. government claimed bigger and bigger swaths of the vast wilderness west of the Appalachian Mountains. The tribes, many of which rejected the notion that their ancient homelands were for sale, pushed back, hard. They refused to cede territory and launched raids against white settlers who, at the government’s urging, poured into traditionally Indigenous lands. Looking out for the nation’s interests, and his own—years earlier, he had claimed 30,000 acres of this land for himself—Washington decided it was time to act. After a series of small military efforts to subdue the tribes had little effect, he sent a large battalion of soldiers to a compound of Indigenous villages in the Ohio Valley, rich and fertile land that the country, and its president, was hungry for.
The expedition was a disaster for the Americans troops. Some 700 soldiers were killed in a surprise attack in the pre-dawn hours of November 4, 1791. In a symbolic gesture that spoke volumes, Indigenous warriors crammed dirt—the very soil Americans wanted for their own—into the eyes and mouths of their victims. It would be the most devastating loss at the hands of Native Americans in the military’s history, resulting in three times more casualties than at Custer’s Last Stand, a century later.
The ignominious defeat in Ohio was an unacceptable debacle for both the president and Congress, which demanded answers. This prompted a series of controversial debates that eerily foreshadowed questions we struggle with today. How to investigate a president? How much power and autonomy does he have? What is the role of the military during national crises? This all but forgotten battle was a defining moment, with repercussions that echo down the years. It exposed gaping holes in the Constitution and shined a spotlight on the power of the U.S. presidency. Most tragically, it marked the hardening of an attitude toward Native Americans that would allow the U.S. federal government to take over 95 percent of Indigenous lands in the next hundred years. Today, we are living with the consequences.
Both a gripping wilderness narrative and an astute commentary on American politics and history, Sins of the Founding Father takes a fresh and nuanced look our country’s earliest days and its beloved but deeply flawed Founding Father.
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Published August 17, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
August 18, 2023
(2.25 Stars)
This was very short, but had a lot of good information. The low rating isn't for the content necessarily... It is a less than flattering view of an Early America, and how lies, corruption, and deceit laid the groundwork for a lot of the problems we continue to see in America today. The book does a good job pointing out that America has never really been "great", but doesn't go as far as suggesting a path to get there.
It simply points out that the founding fathers were not infallible figures whose actions should be revered and never evaluated.
No, the low rating was because the information, while good, was not laid out in a good way. It seemed jumbled, choppy, and more like someone was taking notes to write a book with, than an actual finished product. With that being said, I would read a longer work by this author.
This was very short, but had a lot of good information. The low rating isn't for the content necessarily... It is a less than flattering view of an Early America, and how lies, corruption, and deceit laid the groundwork for a lot of the problems we continue to see in America today. The book does a good job pointing out that America has never really been "great", but doesn't go as far as suggesting a path to get there.
It simply points out that the founding fathers were not infallible figures whose actions should be revered and never evaluated.
No, the low rating was because the information, while good, was not laid out in a good way. It seemed jumbled, choppy, and more like someone was taking notes to write a book with, than an actual finished product. With that being said, I would read a longer work by this author.
June 1, 2023
I thought I was reading a historical book. Unfortunately it is equally modern politics as it is history. Very disappointing read. I wanted to read and learn about history, and even about the sins and mistakes of history. I'm ok with even using history as a warning of what not to repeat. However, this author clearly has a bone to pick, and uses very brief brush strokes to condemn complex current events. If that was the aim of the book then I wish there would have been more research on current events than media biased hot takes. There were a plethora of hot takes without any supporting research or in-depth conversation. There were snide remarks about current events but they were no engaging or truly analytical discussions revolving around those statements.
May 7, 2025
Those who want to take America Back were not those for whom it was taken from in the first place, they were the ones that benefitted from the stealing (paraphrased).
Wow, this book had a message and he really pushed that narrative. I picked this one up because it focused on the Ohio Valley after the Revolutionary War and the Indian battles that commenced as we systematically stole their land. I was not expecting how deftly he was able to connect the troubles back then with some of the political strife we are currently experiencing, but it was a great add. It is always crazy how what you think are isolated incidents actually effect the whole outcome of history. In this case it was a battle that was not even named, but its impact has effected the nation and all of its residents greatly (whether for good or bad).
The battle is one that Arthur St. Clair lead a bit after the Treaty of Greenville in the Ohio Territory, where they were caught off guard by the natives and were thoroughly beaten. This unnamed battle lead to more taking of native land and eventually the expulsion from the Ohio Territory and other native lands and the movement to reservations via the trail of tears and other marches.
The other quote that stuck with me in this book was something like this: "It was believed that Native peoples were heathens and lacking a soul. Africans may have been treated as cattle, but Native peoples were seen as less than even that. They treat the natives as wild animals because they have all the land." It just goes to show how we can take away someone's humanity by making them different and then it is ok to treat them poorly and inhumane. We still do this way too much today...
Wow, this book had a message and he really pushed that narrative. I picked this one up because it focused on the Ohio Valley after the Revolutionary War and the Indian battles that commenced as we systematically stole their land. I was not expecting how deftly he was able to connect the troubles back then with some of the political strife we are currently experiencing, but it was a great add. It is always crazy how what you think are isolated incidents actually effect the whole outcome of history. In this case it was a battle that was not even named, but its impact has effected the nation and all of its residents greatly (whether for good or bad).
The battle is one that Arthur St. Clair lead a bit after the Treaty of Greenville in the Ohio Territory, where they were caught off guard by the natives and were thoroughly beaten. This unnamed battle lead to more taking of native land and eventually the expulsion from the Ohio Territory and other native lands and the movement to reservations via the trail of tears and other marches.
The other quote that stuck with me in this book was something like this: "It was believed that Native peoples were heathens and lacking a soul. Africans may have been treated as cattle, but Native peoples were seen as less than even that. They treat the natives as wild animals because they have all the land." It just goes to show how we can take away someone's humanity by making them different and then it is ok to treat them poorly and inhumane. We still do this way too much today...
September 28, 2025
This was a great introduction for me. I have always felt that the American way of telling things, especially when it comes to wars, seemed off, one-sided. America's policies as a mid-size settler colony during its creation, its relationship with Britain, and the aggressive overtaking of the land of the Indians are told clearly, with references. It's more obvious to me now that the colonial era has not really ended. Drawing parallels with today's US politics, this short book had all the elements to whet my appetite for the history of the pre-colonial Americas. And (unfortunately) I expect most of the issues of discrimination and incessant need to own the land to have endured till today.
July 26, 2023
This book does exactly what it sets out to do, and is exactly what it says it is. It's a precursor to the author's future, major work. So the book is really good, but there's definitely not a whole lot of closure and conclusions. It's worth the read because it's so short, and I love how Washington is exposed for more of who he is than what American History usually teaches you.
May 28, 2023
"It was believed that Native peoples were heathens and lacking a soul. Africans may have been treated as cattle, but Native peoples were seen as leas than even that."
Imagine the government relying on the hunting of a group of people for sport to build a patriotic comradery. Oh wait--
Imagine the government relying on the hunting of a group of people for sport to build a patriotic comradery. Oh wait--
June 29, 2024
Great work and good insight from a wide variety of sources and perspectives, I did really enjoy the comparisons to January 6th and felt they were very insightful, but the frequent comparisons did at times feel like they were reiterating the same point.
May 21, 2023
Quick and engaging read.
February 26, 2024
A quick view of the shaping of George Washington's attitudes and policies regarding First Nations people and tribes (and how they began and shaped the myriad injustices that followed to this day.)
April 29, 2025
It didn’t really do what I had hoped it would do. It was really short.
December 30, 2023
Sins of the founding father is a historical recount of the defet of the Washington military by Native Americans in 1791.
This book recounts the event that led up to this, how the new United States government kept changing their rules and promises when it came to Native American, their lands, and their rights.
As it presents historical events, he also compares them and contrast them to the current political climate in the US.
This book recounts the event that led up to this, how the new United States government kept changing their rules and promises when it came to Native American, their lands, and their rights.
As it presents historical events, he also compares them and contrast them to the current political climate in the US.
May 2, 2024
I never knew the degree to which Washington was responsible for the genocide and mistreatment of our Native Americans in this country. This more detailed account of historical events left me ashamed of all the powerful people who conspired to eradicate the indigenous tribes and steal their land. The worst of it is that it continues as sacred lands are desiccated, paved over, mined, polluted and taken control of to make profit for white people who have no understanding of or concern for the delicate balance of nature that they are destroying.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews