Michael Witgen’s new book is not a subtle work; it is not intended to be. The goal of the project is to establish, unequivocally, how a “political economy of plunder” lay at the heart of the American state-building project from the country’s inception onward (260). To make his case, Witgen examines the fraught experiences of Native peoples—primarily Anishinaabeg—in the northern tier of the United States’ Northwest Territory during the era of the early republic. This larger project of the book unites a series of interlocking case studies that range from fascinating vignettes about the Indian Liberating Army to land cession treaties, missionary efforts, and court cases involving Native and mixed-race people in the Old Northwest. The work offers an impressive breadth of argument while still taking time to unpack and offer close readings of particular episodes.
The book is a welcome new authority on several fronts. First, it joins a...