Quote:
Originally Posted by Shawnee123
We gave them forest-clad mountains and valleys full of game...
Chief Tecumseh, Shawnee Nation
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They gave us something else: the basis for our Democratic experiment. Benjamin Franklin wrote his Albany Plan of Union based on the urgings of Indian leaders who were tired of dealing with multiple bickering colonies (it was rejected, but the idea persisted). Native thinkers were influencing Eurpoean idealists*, and the Europeans influenced the Americans. The unique, merit-based system of government used successfully by millions of Native Americans was the envy of progressive thinkers everywhere. Of course, we gave all credit to the Europeans, none to the "savage" Natives.
Primary historical sources clearly acknowledge this, our modern "history" textbooks do not. Why do you think we dressed up like "Indians" at the Tea Party? To scare the British? No, because Native American motifs were a symbol of the freedom we aspired to. Ironic.
*Yes, Natives had gotten around to Europe before we arrived, including good old Squanto, who had crossed the Atlantic as many as six times before he returned home to Plymouth Rock.