{"product_id":"william-wells-and-the-struggle-for-the-old-northwest","title":"William Wells and the Struggle for the Old Northwest","description":"\u003cp\u003eBorn to Anglo-American parents on the Appalachian frontier  captured by the Miami Indians at the age of thirteen  and adopted into the tribe  William Wells (17701812) moved between two cultures all his life but was comfortable in neither. Vilified by some historians for his divided loyalties  he remains relatively unknown even though he is worthy of comparison with such famous frontiersmen as Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett. William Heaths thoroughly researched book is the first biography of this man-in-the-middle.  A servant of empire with deep sympathies for the people his country sought to dispossess  Wells married Chief Little Turtles daughter and distinguished himself as a Miami warrior  as an American spy  and as an Indian agent whose multilingual skills made him a valuable interpreter. Heath examines pioneer life in the Ohio Valley from both white and Indian perspectives  yielding rich insights into Wellss career as well as broader events on the post-revolutionary American frontier  where Anglo-Americans pushing westward competed with the Indian nations of the Old Northwest for control of territory.  Wellss unusual career  Heath emphasizes  earned him a great deal of ill will. Because he warned the U.S. government against Tecumsehs confederacy and the Tenskwatawas religiously mad followers  he was hated by those who supported the Shawnee leaders. Because he came to question treaties he had helped bring about  and cautioned the Indians about their harmful effects  he was distrusted by Americans. Wells is a complicated hero  and his conflicted position reflects the decline of coexistence and cooperation between two cultures.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44968046788661,"sku":"ByrdShop_0806151196","price":225.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780806151199.jpg?v=1770645115","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/william-wells-and-the-struggle-for-the-old-northwest","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}