1700’s Appalachia What to know for tomorrow!

The beginnings….   Appalachia’s first settlers: over 14,000 years ago   Ancestors of Iroquois and Cherokee migrated here 12,000 BC   Cherokee most prominent in pre- colonial Appalachia  but not only: Shawnee, Yuchi, Carawba and many others

And the Europeans Came:   16th c: Spanish explorers in Florida told by the Apalachee peoples that there was gold in the mountains north. (truth??)   By 1562, “Appalachen” appeared on European maps   De Soto’s journey took him as far as Mountains in East TN   Iroquois began to expand their territory south (VA, SC, NC)  ◦ The clashes in Appalachia were multicultural and multiethnic!

Quick Bellwork Review  “Appalachia”-- from where did we get that name?  From what European countries did settlers come?

On YOUR timelines:  Add the information as we go. NEATLY

Kentucky in the 1700’s  1739: Discovery of a mastadon graveyard by French explorer de Longueuil

KY—the “First West”  First area to be settled outside of the 13 colonies  More than a century to go a few hundred miles inland from the Atlantic, but in another century, explorers and settlers would cover the entire continent !

1750’s  Thomas Walker: a dr. and explorer, made his way through the Cumberland Gap; mapped the geography  Christopher Gist: surveyor who explored the Ohio territory on the Ohio River, first Englishman to explore this northern part of Kentucky

Walker: Cumberland Gap

Gist’s voyages: North KY

 Why was Can-tuc-kee not really occupied by Native Americans?  (read excerpt from Black Fish)

The Azgens:  The origin of the Azgen legend will probably never be known, but it shows up in traditional Cherokee and Shawnee folklore. The Azgen were a race or tribe of white people who lived in North America prior to the arrival of the Native Americans. The Indians called them the "Moon Eyed People", due to their nocturnal habits. Some legends even go so far as to claim that the Azgen were very small and perfectly white. Nonetheless, the Indians maintained distance and respect for the Azgen.

 Though the Legend of the Azgen people has its genesis in the mountains of eastern Kentucky and Tennessee, the tale directly relates to Ohio and her history. During the frontier era, and the numerous Indian wars and treaties that followed, the Indian tribes of Ohio maintained that Kentucky was a sacred land and off-limits to everyone. The Indians could hunt in Kentucky, but could never make permanent settlement. This notion of a sacred game preserve, of course, paved the way for the untamed wilderness that great explorers like Simon Kenton and Daniel Boone discovered on the frontier. The frontier accounts of Kentucky's wilderness were astonishing. It was often described as a bounty of game, where one could hardly take a single step in the forest without scaring off at least one animal.

 Whatever the origin or nature of the Azgen legend may be, it is hard to ignore the fact that the Indian tribes of Ohio regarded Kentucky as sacred land, and land worth fighting for. In this vein of thought, it is also hard to ignore the importance of the Ohio country to the Indians. For a time, the tribes maintained the Ohio River as a boundary between white settlement and native lands, with Ohio being the so-called Middle Ground, a place that everyone wants and none can have.

FRENCH & INDIAN WAR  Impact on KY settlement: secured Ohio River as a major entryway for waves of settlers

1760’s  Proclamation of 1763: prohibited English settlement west of the Appalachian mountains  Obeyed??  nope--frontiersmen couldn't turn back!

Where did the early settlers come from?

What is the history of these settlers?   The kings of Scotland and England could not agree:  ◦ From all but three English Monarchs suffered Scottish invasion or invaded Scotland   Endemic violence perpetuated poverty   Land ownership not as important as a horse and weapons   Blood relations were highly important; families became clans; loyalty to the clan, not the Crown   There was little trust in legal institutions; settled own disputes through violence

DANIEL BOONE  Boone’s first exploration into KY  returned for hunting expedition  A “new found Paradise”  First roads?  buffalo traces

1770’s  1773: Boone led settlers into KY but forced to turn back by natives  1774: Lord Dunmore’s War  Shawnee did not sign a treaty in the ‘50’s with Virginia, so they began attacking frontier settlers. Governor Dunmore attacked Shawnee. (a distraction? a way to show these colonials they have no chance in a rebellion for independence?)  Shawnee lost this war, ceding all claims south of Ohio River  :James Harrod begins first permanent Kentucky settlement

 1775: Richard Henderson gathers Cherokee chiefs at Treaty of Sycamore Shoals  Purchases most of KY for $50,000 through Transylvania Land Company  Boone leads settlers through Cumberland Gap, establishes Boonesborough

Boone's Biography  el-boone /videos/daniel-boone- full-episode el-boone /videos/daniel-boone- full-episode

 Henderson’s land scheme: to profit, have settlers pay taxes to him. Claiming it for British, not Virginia colony.  Dissension amongst settlers

1776  Settlers send Rep’s (George Rogers Clark) to petition VA to invalidate Henderson’s claim.  Henderson petitions Congress to make Transylvania the 14 th colony.  VA assembly invalidates Henderson’s claim. KY becomes VA land.

Revolutionary War  Major effect on KY:  British recruit Native Americans to harass the frontier settlements.

1778  Shawnee siege of Boonesborough

1780’s  VA divided KY county into 3 counties: Fayette, Jefferson, Lincoln  (map)  Battle of Blue Licks  (map)  1784: ten state conventions to determine statehood  Why did they want to separate?  (think geography!)

1790’s  1792: Statehood (#15)  (takes nearly 8 years to meet VA’s demands and draft a constitution)  Question of slavery  Electoral college at first; discarded in 1799

 1794: Battle of Fallen Timbers  decisive victory over the Northwest Indian Confederation, ending two decades of border warfare and securing white settlement of the former Indian territory mainly in Ohio through the:Northwest Indian ConfederationOhio  1795: Treaty of Greenville  1796: Wilderness Rd opens for wagons

POPULATION GROWTH  1792: 100,000  1800: 220,000  1810: 406,000  What had happened in 1803?

 1798: State legislature passes KY Resolutions opposing Alien and Sedition Acts  Nullification  States rights