In the past thirty years, the study of French-Indian relations in the center of North America has emerged as an important field for examining the complex relationships that defined a vast geographical area, including the Great Lakes region, the Illinois Country, the Missouri River Valley, and Upper and Lower Louisiana. For years, no one better represented this emerging area of study than Jacqueline Peterson and Richard White, scholars who identified a world defined by miscegenation between French colonists and the native population, or métissage, and the unique process of cultural accommodation that led to a “middle ground” between French and Algonquians. Building on the research of Peterson, White, and Jay Gitlin, this collection of essays brings together new and established scholars from the United States, Canada, and France, to move beyond the paradigms of the middle ground and métissage. At the same time it seeks to demonstrate the rich variety of encounters that defined French and Indians in the heart of North America from 1630 to 1815. Capturing the complexity and nuance of these relations, the authors examine a number of thematic areas that provide a broader assessment of the historical bridge-building process, including ritual interactions, transatlantic connections, diplomatic relations, and post-New France French-Indian relations.

Explore the controversial legal history of the formation of the United States Prestatehood Legal Materials is your one-stop guide to the history and development of law in the U.S. and the change from territory to statehood. Unprecedented in its coverage of territorial government, this book identifies a wide range of available resources from each state to reveal the underlying legal principles that helped form the United States. In this unique publication, a state expert compiles each chapter using his or her own style, culminating in a diverse sourcebook that is interesting as well as informative. In Prestatehood Legal Materials, you will find bibliographies, references, and discussion on a varied list of source materials, including: state codes drafted by Congress county, state, and national archives journals and digests state and federal reports, citations, surveys, and studies books, manuscripts, papers, speeches, and theses town and city records and documents Web sites to help your search for more information and more Prestatehood Legal Materials provides you with brief overviews of state histories from colonization to acceptance into the United States. In this book, you will see how foreign countries controlled the laws of these territories and how these states eventually broke away to govern themselves. The text also covers the legal issues with Native Americans, inter-state and the Mexico and Canadian borders, and the development of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of state government. This guide focuses on materials that are readily available to historians, political scientists, legal scholars, and researchers. Resources that assist in locating not-so-easily accessible materials are also covered. Special sections focus on the legal resources of colonial New York City and Washington, DC—which is still technically in its prestatehood stage. Due to the enormity of this project, the editor of Prestatehood Legal Materials created a Web page where updates, corrections, additions and more will be posted.

Archaeology of Louisiana provides a groundbreaking and up-to-date overview of archaeology in the Bayou State, including a thorough analysis of the cultures, communities, and people of Louisiana from the Native Americans of 13,000 years ago to the modern historical archaeology of New Orleans. With eighteen chapters and twenty-seven distinguished contributors, Archaeology of Louisiana brings together the studies of some of the most respected archaeologists currently working in the state, collecting in a single volume a range of methods and theories to offer a comprehensive understanding of the latest archaeological findings. In the past two decades alone, much new data has transformed our knowledge of Louisiana's history. This collection, accordingly, presents fresh perspectives based on current information, such as the discovery that Native Americans in Louisiana constructed some of the earliest-known monumental architecture in the world—extensive earthen mounds—during the Middle Archaic period (6000–2000 B.C.) Other contributors consider a variety of subjects, such as the development of complex societies without agriculture, underwater archaeology, the partnering of archaeologists with the Caddo Nation and descendant communities, and recent research in historical archaeology and cultural resource management that promises to transform our current appreciation of colonial Spanish, French, Creole, and African American experiences in the Lower Mississippi Valley. Accessible and engaging, Archaeology of Louisiana provides a complete and current archaeological reference to the state's unique heritage and history.

The genealogy of the French-speaking members of the Lewis and Clark expedition can often be traced back to the times where the fleur-de-lys was flying over New France. The terra incognita was explored to gratify Louis XIV's lust for the brown gold of the fur trade. By the time of the Lewis and Clark expedition, the French were well integrated into the North American population. These men were instrumental in the success of the Corps of Discovery. Observers from the Montreal North West Company spied on the expedition for fear of American encroachments. New Spain sent in vain a French adventurer to capture Meriwether Lewis. The legend of the West has both French and American heroes in common among the coureurs de bois (white Indians) and mountain men.

Folklore, archaeological data, and first-person narratives contrast the wanton destruction of the eastern buffalo with the spirit and heroism of the early frontier.

This work is a thought-provoking look at the original 13 colonies, presenting the facts and engaging the reader by using alternate history—what if key events had turned out differently?—to help develop critical thinking skills. This entry in ABC-CLIO's exciting series Turning Points—Actual and Alternate Histories covers the development of the original 13 states, from first European contact up to the Revolutionary War. Using the fascinating tool of alternate history—postulating the course of events, had one key fact been different—the book engages students' imaginations and critical thinking skills. This critical period in American history is particularly suited to the alternative history approach: The population of the colonies was small, so the import of individual actions, or of singular events, was proportionately large. If the English had lost one battle to the Swedes, the United States might have been a Swedish colony. If James, Duke of York, had died of the plague in 1654, the U.S. and French revolutions might not have happened.