Tecumseh and the Quest for Indian Leadership by David Edmunds is a seamlessly written account of the life of Tecumseh, and the history of his people, the Shawnee Indians. The book begins by describing the natural grandeur of the Shawnees lands in autumn, and briefly describing the ways of the “old ones” or the original Shawnee traditions prior to the introduction to the ways of the Europeans. The book then describes the various movements (both geographic and political) that the Shawnees were involved with up until the time of Tecumseh’s death. It also focuses on Tecumseh, who was an aggressive Shawnee military leader, who was with his father as he fought and died. Tecumseh was then responsible for being a father figure to several of his siblings, which incorporated including them in his war bands and teaching them to hunt. Throughout his life, Tecumseh fostered a hate of the white settlers who were constantly taking over, and moving into the traditional Shawnee lands. Tecumseh was involved with, and even led a small war band, in the majority of the battles that raged between white settlers and Native Americans during his time, and the book does a great job of explaining Tecumseh’s involvement in those battles, as well as any feelings that Historians know that he had concerning decisions that were made by the leadership of both the Americans as well as the Native Americans. The book also spends a great deal of time explaining the downfall of the Shawnee’s which was responsible for weakening them to the point that the Americans were able to push them aside so easily. Traders, many of whom were British, built up Shawnee dependence on foreign made materials. As time progressed, Shawnees grew unable or unwilling to manufacture goods of there own, and became entirely dependant on the trade of furs for manufactured European goods. On page 54, Edmunds describes the severity of the Shawnee dependence on European goods, just after describing the methods that were traditionally used to create necessities of their own design.

When the fur trade expanded, the Shawnees’ old self-sufficiency disintegrated as they became increasingly dependent upon the white man’s trade goods. Items once deemed luxuries became necessities, and when the Shawnees and other Indians were denied these products they suffered…when their ammunition was depleted, they no longer could hunt effectively. (Edmunds 54)

In addition to the necessities that the Shawnees grew to be dependant on, the British traders also spread large amounts of whiskey among the Shawnees, which led to large rates of alcoholism. Lastly, British traders subtly spread anti-American propaganda, and help fostered the Shawnees dislike of Americans. All these factors created a powder keg that was ready to explode by the time Tecumseh gained prominence as a military leader of the Shawnees.

By the time that the War of 1812 broke out, Tecumseh was more than ready to fight against the Americans, and he did so on the behalf of the British. Tecumseh’s younger brother, Teskwatawa, had begun a spiritual movement that argued against any involvement with the ways of the Whites, and Tecumseh and Teskwatawa worked together to spread anti-American feelings among their followers. After several small battles and failed peace negotiations, Tecumseh officially merged his forces with the British, and fought alongside them in a number of battles, namely alongside Sir Isaac Brock at the battle for Detroit in 1812. However, Brock’s predecessor was unable to work well alongside Tecumseh, and eventually Tecumseh was killed at the Battle of the Thames when the British general failed to show up to support Tecumseh and his men as they fought against the Americans. Since his death, Tecumseh’s role in the War of 1812 has been at times forgotten, and at times greatly exaggerated, but with the publication of David Edmunds Tecumseh and the Quest for Indian Leadership, the facts were set straight.

As I have already determined and outlined, the main theses of the book was that Tecumseh was the spawn of a generation in which his people were systematically being undone by a number of outside forces. The book analyzes those sources, and links them and their effects to Tecumseh’s life, while outlining the major events that helped shape Tecumseh’s life. Edmunds provides back up for this main concept through historical evidence that relates both to the various political and social movements of the time, as well as military records of the conflicts, and less factual data that is gathered from scientists and historians who studied the mentality and lifestyles of the Native Americans of the era. It would be impossible to cite the various sources that Edmunds cites throughout his book, but a complete list as well as a note concerning them can be found at the back of the book.   

I would certainly contend that Edmunds is reaching out more towards a history-minded public audience rather than an audience of historians, or any other. The book is well written and very factual, but not so technical that a public audience would be unable to understand it (and not as technical as it would be if it were intended for other historians).

I would also contend that Edmunds more than succeeds in proving the thesis of the book. He is able to include nearly every issue that shaped the lives of the Shawnee people, as well as Tecumseh himself. At the same time, Edmunds provided as much factual information as possible about the major events, and was able to prioritize how much attention he gave to each facet of Shawnee society, so that the book is not a dry or boring read.

I am not exactly on top of the historical knowledge that was present prior to the publication of Tecumseh and the Quest for Indian Leadership, but I can certainly say that it is the ONLY text I know of the appeals to the public and is able to educate them about the Shawnees and Tecumseh. While I doubt Edmunds found new evidence and included it in his book (thus prohibiting the book from adding to the historical knowledge in that sense), it certainly brings a wealth of information to the public that was previously unintelligible as it was concealed behind a language that only historians could decipher.

Lastly, I would like to take a moment to recommend this book to anyone who is looking to learn a little something while staying entertained with a decent read. I can’t say it was the most enjoyable book that I have ever read, but it definitely presented information that I would otherwise be unable to comprehend in an entertaining and smoothly written manner, that was certainly vastly different from the style of a text book.

All in all, Tecumseh and the Quest for Indian Leadership, is not only a well done Biography, but a well done book, that presents the conditions leading up to and during the War of 1812 from the Shawnees point of view. It is always more pleasant to read or watch historical accounts from various angles, and this book expertly portrays the corrupt trading and settling practices of the British and Americans, whose only goal was to damage each other, but in the end, only wound up destroying the Shawnees.