Tenskwatwa and Tecumseh offered competing and sometimes complementary strategies for protecting evolving Native American life in the Ohio and...

Tenskwatwa and Tecumseh had somewhat different viewpoints in how to best keep the Americans out of the Old Northwest Territory.  Tenskwatwa became a spiritual leader of the Shawnee when he had a vision in which he saw happy lives for all who turned away from white culture.  This meant turning away from white foods, goods, and marriage with white settlers.  Tenskwatwa, known as the Prophet, created a town that the Americans called Prophetstown; in this...

Tenskwatwa and Tecumseh had somewhat different viewpoints in how to best keep the Americans out of the Old Northwest Territory.  Tenskwatwa became a spiritual leader of the Shawnee when he had a vision in which he saw happy lives for all who turned away from white culture.  This meant turning away from white foods, goods, and marriage with white settlers.  Tenskwatwa, known as the Prophet, created a town that the Americans called Prophetstown; in this town Tenskwatwa could enforce his beliefs more effectively.  Tecumseh, his brother, sought to keep the whites out of the region through a Pan-Indian alliance.  He thought that by uniting all the Indians in the region, he could have enough warriors to permanently keep the whites out.  Tecumseh was not above asking for British help during the War of 1812 in order to better harass American settlements.  After the British lost the War of 1812, they pulled out of the Great Lakes region, and Tecumseh was killed at the Battle of the Thames.