Uncommon Means to a Common End: The Life of George Morgan White Eyes

In 1789 George Morgan White Eyes wrote to George Washington that the actions of Congress make "me of opinion that I am not as much consequence as a dog." The young Delaware's family gambled on the United States and paid dearly. His father, chief George White Eyes, survived the infamous smallpox blankets incident only to be murdered by backcountry whites in 1778, despite his support for the Patriot cause. George Morgan proposed that the chief's son receive an education at Princeton as compensation. White Eyes learned to read and write in English, Latin and Greek, and boasted connections to important American leaders. However, by the early 1790s he was seen as an unnecessary expense. White Eyes was ultimately shot dead by a white man who escaped any responsibility.

This paper turns the question of revolutions around, asking not just what changed to make allies into victims, but what were the continuities keeping this family negotiating with Americans. The answer can be found by examining the shared connections and strategies of peoples in the heart of the continent. Wielding friendships, family ties, and business connections, resourceful individuals created a unique common ground within the Mississippi River Valley. This common ground saw a brief flowering of possibilities that ended in the late 1700s. The life of George Morgan White Eyes demonstrates the opportunities and perils faced by Native peoples. Perhaps the first ever recipient of federal aid for secondary education, White Eyes returned west as a young man with the kinds of skills that should have rendered him an important figure in his nation, but fundamental changes in Native and European societies denied him that opportunity.