Texts from Department Faculty

Cover of text titled Mr. Jefferson's Hammer: William Henry Harrison and the Origins of American Indian Policy. The cover includes an image of William Henry Harrison looking to the left.
By Dr. Robert M. Owens

Mr. Jefferson's Hammer: William Henry Harrison and the Origins of American Indian Policy

"Often remembered as the president who died shortly after taking office, William Henry Harrison remains misunderstood by most Americans. Before becoming the ninth president of the United States in 1841, Harrison was instrumental in shaping the early years of westward expansion. Robert M. Owens now explores that era through the lens of Harrison’s career, providing a new synthesis of his role in the political development of Indiana Territory and in shaping Indian policy in the Old Northwest."

Image of cover of Killing Over Land. The image depicts a painting of an early pionier family on the American frontier. They are facing away from the veiwer looking into the hills behind them.
By Dr. Robert M. Owens

Killing Over Land: Murder and Diplomacy on the Early American Frontier

"In early America, interracial homicide—whites killing Native Americans, Native Americans killing whites—might result in a massive war on the frontier; or, if properly mediated, it might actually facilitate diplomatic relations, at least for a time. In Killing over Land, Robert M. Owens explores why and how such murders once played a key role in Indian affairs and how this role changed over time."

Cover of the book Red Dreams, White Nightmares. It depicts a group of Native American men sitting in a circle in the forest with one of them leading a discussion.
By Dr. Robert M. Owens

Red Dreams, White Nightmares: Pan-Inidan Alliances in the Anglo-American Mind, 1763-1815

"From the end of Pontiac’s War in 1763 through the War of 1812, fear—even paranoia—drove Anglo-American Indian policies. In Red Dreams, White Nightmares, Robert M. Owens views conflicts between whites and Natives in this era—invariably treated as discrete, regional affairs—as the inextricably related struggles they were."