Rob Harper

The transformation of the Ohio Valley between the 1760s and 1790s was as much a revolution within frontier communities as it was a conquest by an external state. The nature of community politics and society, ongoing processes of coalition building, and the traumas of protracted warfare together fostered a realignment in relations of power within both Indian and settler communities. These changes bestowed ever more authority on the individuals most willing and able to help consolidate state authority. State power stemmed not from the strength of formal institutions, but from interpersonal relationships and the manipulation of social networks. This project describes social networks, political brokers, coalition building, the escalation of violence, and the origins of state formation.

The transformation of the Ohio Valley between the 1760s and 1790s was as much a revolution within frontier communities as a conquest by an external state. To achieve their goals, both Indians and settlers used intersecting social networks to unite disparate factions into awkward and unstable coalitions. This process of coalition building and the traumas of protracted warfare realigned relations of power within both Indian and settler communities, bestowing ever more influence on individuals who could secure material and military aid from colonial states. State power in the region stemmed not from the strength of formal institutions, but from the interpersonal relationships and informal networks that undergirded Ohio Valley politics.