Thomas Loraine McKenney (21 March 1785 – 19 February 1859) was a

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

official who served as Superintendent of Indian Affairs from 1824 to 1830.

Early life

McKenny was born on March 21, 1785, in Hopewell, Maryland. He was the oldest of five boys, and was raised and received his education at

Chestertown, Maryland Chestertown is a town in Kent County, Maryland, United States. The population was 5,532 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the county seat of Kent County, the oldest county in Maryland. History Founded in 1706, Chestertown ...

. McKenney was a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

, which influenced his approach to interactions with Native Americans.

Superintendent of Indian Trade

McKenney served as the Superindenant of the U.S. Office of Indian Trade from 1816 to 1821. He oversaw trading houses that created goods that were traded for furs.

Superintendent of Indian Affairs

After the abolition of the U.S. Indian Trade program in 1822, Secretary of War John C. Calhoun created a position within the War Department entitled Superintendent of Indian Affairs. This office later evolved into the

Bureau of Indian Affairs The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States List of United States federal agencies, federal agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior, Department of the Interior. It is responsible for im ...

. Calhoun appointed McKenney to the position, who served from 1824 to 1830. McKenney was an advocate of the American Indian “civilization” program, becoming an avid promoter of Indian removal west of the Mississippi River. After being elected to office, President

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before Presidency of Andrew Jackson, his presidency, he rose to fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses ...

, who favored Indian removal, dismissed McKenney from his position in 1830 when Jackson disagreed with his opinion that “the Indian was, in his intellectual and moral structure, our equal.” While serving as Superintendent of Trade and Indian Affairs, McKenney helped gain passage of the Indian Civilization Act of 1819. Eleven years later, he helped draft and gain passage of the Indian Removal Act of 1830. While serving as superintendent, McKenney denounced the United States Government for failing to keep white people out of territory belonging to the

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

as part of a treaty.

History of the Indian Tribes of North America

McKenney worked with James Hall to create and publish the three volumes of the '' History of the Indian Tribes of North America,'' which were released from the years of 1836 to 1844. The books included portraits of Native American leaders painted by Charles Bird King.

References

* McKenney, Thomas L. ''Memoirs, Official and Personal: Thomas L. McKenney. 846With Introduction by Herman J. Viola''. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1973. * Viola, Herman J. ''Thomas L. McKenney: Architect of America's Early Indian Policy: 1816-1830''. Chicago: The Swallow Press Inc., Sage Books. 1974.

Bibliography

* Nankano, Yumiko. "The Campaign for Civilization or Removal: Thomas L. McKenney and Federal Indian Affairs in the Formative Years" ''Bulletin of the Faculty of Humanities, Seikei University'' No.48 (2013) 85
online
* Drinnon, Richard. “Facing West.” Google Books. Google. Accessed April 20, 2021
https://books.google.com/books?id=wrexPiqKo58C&q=Thomas%2BL.%2BMcKenney#v=snippet&q=Thomas%20L.%20McKenney&f=false.
* Fletcher, Carlton. “Home.” Glover Park History. Accessed April 20, 2021
https://gloverparkhistory.com/estates-and-farms/weston/thomas-l-mckenney-and-the-indians/.
* Viola, Herman J. “Diplomats in Buckskins.” Google Books. Google. Accessed April 20, 2021
https://books.google.com/books?id=FeGEhXY-4aEC&q=KENNY#v=onepage&q=mckenney&f=false.
* Viola, Herman J. “McKenney, Thomas Loraine (1785-1859), Government Official.” American National Biography. Oxford University Press. Accessed April 20, 2021. https://www.anb.org/view/10.1093/anb/9780198606697.001.0001/anb-9780198606697-e-0300320;jsessionid=7986B9412E2F498488536AE7EC415489. * McKenney, Thomas L. Digital History. Accessed May 7, 2021. https://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtid=3&psid=679.