Surviving Genocide

In the first part of this sweeping two-volume history, Ostler investigates how American democracy relied on Indian dispossession and the federally sanctioned use of force to remove or slaughter Indians in the way of U.S. expansion. He charts the losses that Indians suffered from relentless violence and upheaval and the attendant effects of disease, deprivation, and exposure. This volume centers on the eastern United States from the 1750s to the start of the Civil War. Ostler deepens our understanding of the seizure of indigenous lands, including the use of treaties to create the appearance of Native consent to dispossession. He also carefully documents the resilience of Native people, showing how they survived genocide by creating alliances, defending their towns, and rebuilding their communities. --Adapted from publisher description.