Northwest Territory Protection and Governance

Abstract

Just two years into the Presidency of George Washington and four years into the great experiment that was the United States of America, the discussion became what the responsibility was of the U.S. Government in territories in the far reaching west. Mainly, there were discussing the protection of the people living in the Northwest Territory from Indian attacks and also possible attacks from British and or French soldiers still prominent in the area. The Northwest Territory was also disputed by the governments of the nations, and thus fighting was almost unavoidable. And, the Native Americans, who truly lived in the land longer than any, also had to be contended with. The writing of Secretary of War Henry Knox to President George Washington outlines his suggestions on how the people desperately need some type of protection against these enemies.