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Digital Paxton: Digital Collection, Critical Edition, and Teaching Platform

Penn's Treaty with the Indians (1771-72)

Commissioned by Thomas Penn, son of Pennsylvania's founder, this painting depicts a legendary meeting between William Penn and members of the Lennie Lenape tribe at Shackamaxon on the Delaware River. Honoring his patron's and his own Quaker heritage, West employed a Neoclassical style to suggest both visual and political harmony. By depicting the three factions that shaped Pennsylvania for most of the eighteenth century - Native Americans, Quakers, and merchants - united in the act of settlement, West created a powerful symbol of peace. Although the scene is allegorical rather than historical, the image has become an icon of American history.Benjamin West was the first American-born artist to earn acclaim outside his homeland. West was born in Springfield (now Swarthmore), Pennsylvania, and his early artistic promise encouraged Philadelphia's leading citizens to finance his training in Rome. Subsequently, in 1763 West traveled to London and never returned to the Colonies. His acclaim as a painter of historical scenes attracted the attention of King George III. West was appointed official history painter to the king and was a founder and later was elected president of the Royal Academy. Well aware that, as an American, he was a novelty, West used this mystique to his advantage, claiming that he had learned color mixing from Native Americans. He greatly contributed to American art in his role as teacher and advisor to the many early American artists who came to London to study with him.

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1. Indian Man and Woman Eating (1585) An Indian man and woman eating; on rush mat, eating maize from a large round flat dish Watercolour over graphite, touched with white, bodycolour and gold. Inscribed in brown ink: "Theire sitting at meate " and in graphite: "20." For an introduction to this group of drawings by John White and a list of abbreviations used in the Literature at the end, see curatorial comment for 1906,0509.1.1, the title page inscription to the album. The following text is taken from K. Sloan, 'A New World: England's First View of America' (London, BM Publications, 2006), no. 24, pp. 144-5: The man in this watercolour is dressed like the old man of Pomeiooc (no. 19), but is showing the shaved side of his head, an ear ornament similar to the Priest's (no. 14) and a feather, which may indicate that he is younger. The woman is also young and her skin apron also seems to rise up her back and front to join on her shoulder which is covered by her hand. She is not tattooed as the other women are and her beads are not elaborate; the couple are probably not as high-ranking as the others depicted by White. They are sharing a meal, probably of hulled corn (soaked until the skins come off and then boiled until they puff up), on a wooden platter, seated on a reed mat similar to the ones shown in both village scenes. In his engraving de Bry added a significant number of artefacts to this scene which are not mentioned by Harriot in the caption but are referred to in his main text, and include a gourd for carrying water, a tobacco pouch and clay pipe, walnut, fish, corn and shell, perhaps the invention of the engraver and intended to indicate the contents of their dish, as assumed from Harriot's main account.The most significant comment appended to this image by Harriot is that the Indians ate 'soberly' and did not overindulge as he implies the English tended to do, and were healthier and longer-lived as a result. Engraved by Theodor de Bry in "America," pl. XVI: 'Their sitting at meate. 'Lit.: LB 1(21); Quinn, pp. 429-30; ECM 41; PH&DBQ 44(a); PH 41; Rountree, p. 51; Kupperman 2000, pp. 159-65
2. Indian Village of Pomeiooc (1585)
3. Indian Village of Secoton (1585) Bird's-eye view of village with huts, lake or river, fire, fields and ceremony Watercolour over graphite, heightened with white (oxidised). Inscribed in black ink with notes and in graphite "7." For an introduction to this group of drawings by John White and a list of abbreviations used in the Lit. at the end, see curatorial comment for 1906,0509.1.1, the title page inscription to the album. The following text is taken from K. Sloan, 'A New World: England's First View of America' (London, BM Publications, 2006), no. 8, pp. 110-11: The two towns recorded by White, Secotan and Pomeiooc, represent the two main types found in the area - palisaded (similar to a type found in Florida to the south) and open, as represented here. They contained a few dozen houses at most around a central open space with no rigid plan. The towns were sited near the coast or inland waterways for fishing and transportation. Soil near water was also richer and thus better for growing corn; but rainfall in the summer in this area is not reliable enough to guarantee several harvests every year (and the time of White's visits has been documented as a time of drought), and the people also hunted and gathered wild herbs and plants, carefully recorded for their medicinal, food and commercial properties by Harriot. They did not occupy their towns all year round or always return to the same site. Corn cultivation was relatively new to the inhabitants (introduced around AD 900) but they had developed a way of growing it in mounds surrounded by beans which gave nitrogen to the soil and increased the yield - far greater than the European method of ploughing and planting alone in rows. Maize was used in a variety of ways and provided a good proportion of their food (see no. 00). The houses were made of bark or reed mats, which could be lifted for ventilation. The roofs were rounded for greater stability and the various shapes of the buildings seen here are probably indicative of different functions, with closed structures for storage and ceremonial purposes and open-sided houses for living spaces, especially in the summer. They were mainly for sleeping and storage, with a central hearth used for cooking and smoking fish. There were sheds providing shelter from sun or rain for drying frames and for carrying out group work, although none is visible in White's views. White took most care here in depicting the activities of the people in the town: guarding the corn, which he indicates was sown in three stages (so it was ready for harvest from late July until September); 'sitting at meate'; their place 'of solemne prayer'; the 'Tombe of their Herounds'; and the 'Ceremony in their prayers' around posts carved with faces, while others rest on the sides. Some detail was lost through water damage to the drawing, but Harriot's accompanying written account has led de Bry to add further details including a hunting scene and plots of tobacco, sunflowers and pumpkins, and he has tidied up the scene considerably to make neat pathways and gardens rivalling those of an English country house. Engraved by Theodor de Bry in 'America', 1590, Pt. 1, pl. XX.Lit.: LB 1(6); Quinn, pp. 420-23; ECM 36; PH&DBQ 38(a); PH 36; Kupperman 1980, pp. 45-6; Rountree & Turner, pp. 14-22.
4. Indian Man and Woman Eating (1590)
5. The Town of Pomeiooc (1590) Bird's-eye view of a native American village enclosed by a circular palisade of poles. Eighteen buildings made of small bent poles covered with mats and/or bark surround a central fire with native Americans (some holding rattles) gathered around it. Outside the palisade are a field of corn (maize), sunflowers, and a pond from which three figures get water. The engraving is after a watercolor by John White. Hariot's text and key identify one building as the king's dwelling and another as a temple. The pond outside the village was dug as a source for water. Platforms within the buildings may be for sleeping and /or eating. The village can be located between present-day Lake Landing and Wyesocking Bay. Theodor De Bry's America. Part I. English.
6. The Town of Secota (1590) Bird's-eye view of a native American village. Buildings of pole and mat construction are dispersed in the landscape and surrounded by fields of crops. Crops include corn (maize), tobacco, sunflowers, and pumpkins. Human activities include hunting deer, guarding a field, tending a fire, eating, and dancing. Includes a ceremony involving dancing in a circle formed by posts with human faces carved into them. The engraving is after a watercolor by John White. Secoton may have been located on the south side of the Pamlico River, near Bonnerton, North Carolina. Theodor De Bry's America. Part I. English.
7. Virginia (1624)
8. Susquehannock Fort (1671)
9. Penn Wampum Belt (1682 Shackamoxon treaty)
10. Kort beskrifning om provincien Nya Swerige uti America (1702)
11. Lenape Indian (1702)
13. The Middle Colonies of North America (1714) This map, intended to promote German emigration to the English colonies, first appeared in Homann's Atlas Novus in 1714. From 1730 onward, this map appears with the line, "Cum Privilegio Sac. Maes. Majest." in the cartouche. It was published until 1804. Germantown Teutsche Statt, now Germanna, was a German mining community established by Lieutenant Governor Alexander Spotswood in 1714. The native American figure in the cartouche is derived from the Susquehannock warrior in John Smith's map of Virginia.
14. Conestoga Manor (1717)
16. Map of the land between the Delaware and Susquehanna Rivers, June 7, 1719 "Oversize map in Plexiglass case. The map is related to the boundary dispute between New York and New Jersey. The New York commissioners suspected that the northwestern station of the 1686 line was not on the northernmost branch of Delaware river. The New York commissioners evidently shared this suspicion. They sent Captain John Harrison to the branches of the Delaware on June 30, 1719. Harrison was to ""sett out from Minisinks' Island [the terminus on Delaware river fixed in 1686] and go the Indian path to Susquehanna river, and go up Susquehanna river till you meet the Indian path that comes from thence to the Indian town in Delaware called Cashieghtonk. (The New Jersey Archives, vol. 4, 391) Harrison's survey field book dated June 28 -July 8 is at the New Jersey Historical Society. (Stevens Family papers, box 40, folder 2). ""Protracted by a Scale of 5 miles in a inch."" Watermark: Shield / Post Horn Wendelin Riehel (WR 4) / K.J.K. Cf. Gravell, Foreign Watermarks, # 396 (IKM). Unpublished. "
17. Map of the Delaware River, ca. 1735 This manuscript map was probably drawn for a 1732 deed. Nicholas Scull, the first deputy surveyor for Philadelphia (1719) and Bucks County (1733); handled land disputes in Delaware Water Gap; he was was part of the surveying that precipitated the Walking Purchase. He later served as the Philadelphia County sheriff (1744-1746) and the province's Surveyor General (1748), author of published maps of Philadelphia region; member of the Junto; fluent in the Lenape language.
18. Peace Medal (1757) Presentation medal with the bust of King George II on the obverse and, on the reverse, a Quaker holding a peace pipe at a council fire with an Indian. Duffield, a clockmaker, engraved the die; the silversmith Richardson struck it. It was the first peace medal made in America. Benjamin Franklin and members of the Friendly Association would distribute these medals to Native Americans as tokens of goodwill. Inscription: "LET US LOOK TO THESE MOST HIGH WHO BLESSED OUR FATHERS WITH PEACE. 1757."
19. Habit of a Delaware Indian (1757)
20. Mr. Peter Williamson in the Dress of a Delaware Indian (1759) Williamson wrote of his capture by a professional gang in Aberdeen, Scotland, his sale in America, and subsequent capture by the Delaware Indians. He successfully prosecuted his kidnappers, compiled the first city directory of Edinburgh, established the first penny post there and he kept a tavern where he was known as Indian Peter. The details of his account have been questioned by scholars, but his narrative was popular at the time and served as a model for other captivity narratives. The British and French, realizing the esteem with which Indians held the pipe, began to manufacture metal trade hatchet pipes or tomahawk pipes in the eighteenth century. This image may have been copied from Pierre-Francois-Xavier de Charlevoix, A voyage to North-America, Paris, 1744; see also image in Charlevoix, Voyage, Dublin, 1766.
21. Disposition of the Pennsylvania Troops (1764)
22. Cantonment of His Majesty's Forces in N. America (1766)
23. A Delaware Indian with his Tomahawk (1766) Portrait of a native American of the Delaware Indians. Wearing a feathered headdress, wampum belt, gorget, and moccasins and carrying a gun or musket and a scalping knife, the man smokes a hatchet pipe and stands before a group of dancers and men paddling a canoe. The British and French, realizing the esteem with which Indians held the pipe, began to manufacture metal trade hatchet pipes or tomahawk pipes in the eighteenth century. Source title: [Journal d'un voyage fait par ordre du roi dans l'Amerique Septentrionale. English] A voyage to North-America: undertaken by command of the present King of France...
25. Penn's Treaty with the Indians (1771-72) Commissioned by Thomas Penn, son of Pennsylvania's founder, this painting depicts a legendary meeting between William Penn and members of the Lennie Lenape tribe at Shackamaxon on the Delaware River. Honoring his patron's and his own Quaker heritage, West employed a Neoclassical style to suggest both visual and political harmony. By depicting the three factions that shaped Pennsylvania for most of the eighteenth century - Native Americans, Quakers, and merchants - united in the act of settlement, West created a powerful symbol of peace. Although the scene is allegorical rather than historical, the image has become an icon of American history.Benjamin West was the first American-born artist to earn acclaim outside his homeland. West was born in Springfield (now Swarthmore), Pennsylvania, and his early artistic promise encouraged Philadelphia's leading citizens to finance his training in Rome. Subsequently, in 1763 West traveled to London and never returned to the Colonies. His acclaim as a painter of historical scenes attracted the attention of King George III. West was appointed official history painter to the king and was a founder and later was elected president of the Royal Academy. Well aware that, as an American, he was a novelty, West used this mystique to his advantage, claiming that he had learned color mixing from Native Americans. He greatly contributed to American art in his role as teacher and advisor to the many early American artists who came to London to study with him.
26. Penn's Treaty with the Indians (1775)
27. Plan of the City and Environs of Philadelphia (1777)
28. The Course of the Delaware River from Philadelphia to Chester (1778)
29. Plat of the Seven Ranges of Townships (1814)
30. Penn's Treaty with the Indians (1820) This engraving was taken from Benjamin West's painting which was commissioned by Thomas Penn in his effort to retain the proprietorship government of Pennsylvania. It shows William Penn's peace conference with representatives of the Leni Lenape or Delaware tribes under the great elm at Shackamaxon. The image in the print is reversed from the painting which is in the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia. Cf. 05-135. Series edited by Giulio Ferrario. The title page identifies the illustrator as Giuseppe Erba Odescalchi. Image placed horizontally on page.
31. Washington Residence and Philadelphia Barracks View showing the house, also known as the Robert Morris House, built circa 1767-1768 at 526-530 Market Street, resided in by the president during construction of the executive mansion on Ninth Street. The walled garden adjacent the residence and the neighboring Sheaff's Wine Store (512 Market) are also visible. Includes pedestrian traffic of two men with canes. The residence burned in 1780 and was demolished in 1803. View showing the barracks built in 1757 in Northern Liberties for the quartering of British soldiers. Infantrymen drill across from a soldier presiding over a cannon in the courtyard of the buildings. The Barracks extended between Second, Third, Tammany, and Green streets and were razed soon after the American Revolution. Plate published in John F. Watson's Annals of Philadelphia...(Philadelphia: E.L. Carey & A. Hart, 1830), opp. p. 361. Residence view reproduced in Edward Lawler Jr.'s "The President's House In Philadelphia: The Rediscovery of a Lost Landmark." Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography (January 2002), pp. 5-95.
32. Penn's Treaty with the Indians (c. 1830-1835)
33. Events in Indian history: beginning with an account of the origin of the American Indians, and early settlements in North America, and embracing concise biographies of the principal chiefs and head-sachems of the different Indian tribes, with narratives a
34. Massacre of the Conestogas (1841) Events in Indian history: beginning with an account of the origin of the American Indians, and early settlements in North America, and embracing concise biographies of the principal chiefs and head-sachems of the different Indian tribes, with narratives and captivities ... also an appendix containing the statistics of the population of the U. States, and an Indian vocabulary. Illustrated with eight fine engravings.
35. Colored Lithograph of William Penn's Treaty with the Indians (1845) Print after the Benjamin West painting (1771) showing the treaty made at the village of Shackamaxon (i.e. Penn Treaty Park, Kensington) on the Delaware River. Penn, surrounded by his delegates, negotiates with the Delaware Indian chief near a giant elm tree. Crates of goods are sat upon and displayed by the English delegation. Native Americans, including a translator and a woman breast-feeding her baby, participate in and watch the negotiations. Also shows brick residences being built in the background. River depicted on left.
39. Paxton Presbyterian Church Paxton Presbyterian Church, Paxtang, Harrisburg, Pa. Congregation formed around 1732. This building erected 1740 is the oldest Presbyterian church in continuous use in Pennsylvania. An historic spot closely identified with early Colonial history and the American Revolution. Chapel erected in 1905, enlarged 1923. Marker shows location of early log church. Postcard produced by the Albertype Company, which operated between 1890 and 1952.
40. Visit of Pontiac and the Indians to Major Gladwin
41. Coaquannock Map (1934)

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Introduction 171 Will Fenton image_header 603803 2024-07-22T12:34:00-07:00
Welcome to Digital Paxton. This site isn't only a digital collection dedicated to a massacre, but also a window into colonization, print culture, and Pennsylvania on the eve of the American Revolution.

The “Paxton” in Digital Paxton refers to a little-known massacre in colonial Pennsylvania.

In December 1763, a mob of settlers from Paxtang Township murdered 20 unarmed Susquehannock Indians in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. A month later, hundreds of "Paxton Boys" marched toward Philadelphia to menace and possibly kill more refugee Indians who sought the protection of the Pennsylvania government. While Benjamin Franklin halted the march just outside of Philadelphia in Germantown, supporters of the Paxton Boys and their critics spent the next year battling in print.

The Paxton Boys accused the Conestoga Indians of colluding with the Ohio Country Lenape and Shawnee warriors who were attacking Pennsylvania's western frontier, a charge that had no basis in fact. Their opponents accused the Paxton Boys of behaving more savagely than the Indians they had killed.

The pamphlet war that followed in 1764 was not so different from the Twitter wars of today. Pamphleteers waged battle using pseudonyms, slandering opponents as failed elites and racial traitors. At stake was much more than the conduct of the Paxton men. Pamphleteers staked claims about colonization, peace and war, race and ethnicity, masculinity and civility, and religious association in pre-Revolutionary Pennsylvania.

Digital Paxton began in Spring 2016 when Will Fenton partnered with the Library Company of Philadelphia and the Historical Society of Pennsylvania to digitize both institutions' rich holdings related to the Paxton massacre. Originally conceived as a way to make those records freely accessible via the web, the site quickly expanded to include primary source materials from some two-dozen archives, research libraries, and cultural institutions; a dozen contextual essays from leading historians and literary scholars; and half a dozen lessons from secondary and post-secondary educators.
- Jump to Credits.
As of July 2024, the site features 3,225 pages of material, including 41 artworks, four books, 17 broadsides, 236 manuscripts, 27 newspaper issues, 71 pamphlets, and nine political cartoons, many of which have never before been digitized. About half of the collection (108 records) is fully-transcribed and searchable, and new transcriptions are added on a regular basis.
- Jump to the Digital Collection.
The site also includes six middle school, 13 high school, and three undergraduate lesson plans; 14 contextual essays written by leading historians and literary scholars; and a crowd-sourced transcription platform.
- Jump to Education.
- Jump to Transcriptions.
Will Fenton has presented Digital Paxton at numerous archival, digital humanities, and public events, and the project has been featured in academic journals (American Quarterly, Common-place, Journal of Interactive Teaching & Pedagogy), general interest publications (Albuquerque Journal, PennLive.com, Philadelphia Inquirer, and WHYY), special interest publications (American Indian, Education Week, History News Magazine, and Humanities Magazine), podcasts (Code Switch and Our Fake History), and other media (C-SPAN and Pennsylvania Cable Network).
- Jump to Public Outreach.
Thanks to the support of The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, Digital Paxton has grown considerably, with new archival materials, contextual essays, and lesson plans. It's also given rise to an exciting new public humanities project: Ghost River: The Fall and Rise of the Conestoga is a Native American graphic novel available both online and in print and a public art exhibition at the Library Company of Philadelphia. To learn more about future plans, follow Digital Paxton on social media or visit GhostRiver.org.
- Jump to GHOST RIVER.
To learn more about how to use Digital Paxton, follow this path to "Using Digital Paxton," listed below Contents. To submit questions, share feedback, or get involved in the project, contact the editor.
- Jump to Contact.
High School Education Digital Paxton currently features three lessons suitable for high school classrooms.

The first, "Native American-European Contact in the Colonial Period," is a multi-part lesson plan designed by educational specialists at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. The unit is tailored to high school teachers introducing students to the history of colonial settlement. It includes discussion questions, core concepts, competencies, background information, expansions, vocabulary, primary source materials, and assessments.

In "An Interview with the Paxton Boys," Montgomery Wolf (University of Georgia) asks her students to break into groups, research the pamphlet war using Digital Paxton, and conduct a talk show in which the host interviews members of the Paxton Boys. The assignment encourages students to both critically and creatively engage primary source material, as they use the technological tools they take for granted. Special thanks are due to Eleanor Andersen (Temple University), who has thoughtfully adapted this lesson for use in high school classrooms: She has correlated it to Common Core standards, added context and discussion questions, and created a rubric.

"Transcribing the Paxton Boys" emerges from a collaboration with two faculty members, Benjamin Bankhurst (Shepherd University) and Kyle Roberts (Loyola University Chicago). In spring 2017 Bankhurst and Roberts co-taught an undergraduate history course about the American Revolution, in which they assigned a transcription exercise using Digital Paxton. After a short introduction to Digital Paxton and a crash course in eighteenth-century cursive, students explored the Friendly Association papers. Once again, Eleanor Andersen (Temple University) has thoughtful adapted this lesson for use in high school classrooms: She has correlated it to Common Core standards, added context and discussion questions, and created a rubric.

Finally, Eleanor Andersen (Temple University) has authored her own lesson that encourages students to engage with an artwork (Benjamin West's painting, Penn's Treaty with the Indians) as a primary source document, rhetorical object, and to consider its role in shaping historical mythologies of colonial Pennsylvania. "Which Pennsylvania?" asks students to consider both what makes art rhetorically effective and why, by whom, and for whom those artworks are produced. As with her other lessons, Andersen has correlated her lesson to Common Core (and Pennsylvania) standards, and integrated context, discussion questions, and a pair of thoughtful handouts.
Where are their Voices? 5 Julian Perrin image_header 2019-12-10T06:24:32-08:00
Students will use the graphic novel Ghost River: The Fall and Rise of the Conestoga to give voice to Leni Lenape, Conestoga, and Moravian Indians by analyzing primary source materials from the Paxton massacres and 1764 pamphlet war. This lesson provides a pedestal for students to explore colonial bias and stereotypes. Students will use primary sources to develop an historical understanding of how local Native peoples were excluded from colonial records of the incident.

Essential Questions:
- How were the voices of local Native Americans suppressed or excluded from the 1764 pamphlet war?
- How were local Native Americans stereotyped in primary source materials?
- How do printed materials (e.g. political cartoons) compare to unpublished materials (diaries)?
- How were the Native Americans interned in Philadelphia used to sway public opinion against Paxton critics such as Benjamin Franklin and the Quakers in the Pennsylvania Assembly?
- How does Ghost River give voice to those Native peoples?
Objectives:
- Describe the representation of local Native Americans in primary source materials.
- Use contrasting primary and secondary sources to understand the perspectives of both colonialists and Native Americans.
- Use primary sources (a painting, political cartoon, and diary) to better understand a secondary source (Ghost River).
- Develop structured and coherent writing that uses textual evidence to make an argument about the Native Americans involved in the Paxton incident.
Grade Level: Grades 9 and 10

Standards:
- CC.8.6.9-10.C: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
- CC.8.6.9-10.H: Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
- CC.8.5.9-10.F: Compare the point of view of two or more authors for how they treat the same or similar topics, including which details they include and emphasize in their respective accounts.
- CC.8.5.9-10.I: Compare and contrast treatments of the same topic in several primary and secondary sources.
Historical Background:

Excerpt from Kevin Kenny, Peaceable Kingdom Lost:
The Paxton Boys, frontier militiamen on an unauthorized expedition, struck Conestoga Indiantown at dawn on December 14, 1763. "Fifty-seven Men, from some of our Frontier Townships, who had projected the Destruction of this little Commonwealth," Benjamin Franklin wrote in his Narrative of the Late Massacres in Lancaster County, "came, all well-mounted, and armed with Firelocks, Hangers [a kind of short sword] and Hatchets, having travelled through the Country in the Night, to Conestogoe Manor." Only six people were in the town at the time, "the rest being out among the neighboring White People, some to sell the Baskets, Brooms and Bowls they manufactured." The Paxton Boys killed these six and burned their settlement to the ground.

The Conestoga people lived on a 500-acre tract, which William Penn had set aside for them seventy years earlier, near the town of Lancaster, one hundred miles west of Philadelphia. By 1763 only twenty Conestoga people were living there—seven men, five women, and eight children.

After the murders, local magistrates removed the remaining fourteen residents to the Lancaster jail and workhouse for their safety, but on December 27 the Paxton Boys rode into that town to continue the attack they had started two weeks earlier. Fifty men, "armed as before, dismounting, went directly to the Work-house and by Violence broke open the Door," Franklin reported, "and entered with the utmost Fury in their Countenances." Within a matter of minutes they had slaughtered the fourteen individuals sheltering at the workhouse, including the eight children.

The Paxton men were fully aware of the symbolic and political significance of their actions. They murdered unarmed, peaceable Conestoga people to make the point that all Indians were the same. And they slaughtered the Conestogas on government property in broad daylight. In perpetrating the massacres, they repudiated the settlement policy of William Penn.

Excerpt from Scott Paul Gordon, Christian Indians
The armed frontiersmen who marched to Philadelphia in February 1764 planned to murder 140 Indians gathered in barracks in the city's Northern Liberties. Most of these Indians were Christians, having lived in the Moravian mission towns of Nain and Wechquetank in Northampton County. Provincial authorities decided to “order the Moravian Indians down to Philadelphia” in November 1763, as Governor John Penn wrote, because “the people of Northampton County … were determined to cut them all off” (John Penn to Richard Penn). These individuals were joined by other Native Americans from Wyalusing, an Indian town on the Susquehanna River. Except for their leader, John Papunhunk, who had been converted by Moravian missionary David Zeisberger, the Wyalusing Indians were neither Moravian nor Christian. The Paxton Boys' Declaration and Remonstrance clearly identified the different groups gathered in Philadelphia: “Some of these Indians now in the Barracks of Philadelphia are confessedly a part of the Wyalusing Indians, which Tribe is now at War with us; and the others are the Moravian Indians, who [are] living amongst us under the Cloak of Friendship.”

These Christian Indians were confined at the Philadelphia barracks and on Province Island from November 1763 until March 1765. Many prominent citizens visited them, including Governor John Penn and Anthony Benezet, and mobs threatened them. They tried, as much as possible, to live as a congregation as they had in Nain and Wechquetank. Moravian missionary couples, Bernhard Adam and Margaret Grube and Johann Jacob and Johanna Schmick, lived with them. The diaries kept by these missionaries record regular services, communions, lovefeasts, births, and baptisms. Sadly, these diaries are also filled with deaths and burials. Fifteen Indians died in May and June 1764, and twenty more died the next month: in all, fifty-five Moravian Indians were buried in 1764 in Philadelphia's Potter's field. The Paxton Boys did not reach the Christian Indians in February 1764, but the confinement that their threats precipitated turned out to be more deadly than their guns and sabers.

Materials:
- Ghost River: The Fall & Rise of the Conestoga (print or digital edition)
- Excerpts from Ghost River (34-36; 45-47)
- Franklin and the Quakers (political cartoon and transcription)
- Excerpts from Diary of the Indian Gemeine in the Barracks of Philadelphia, Final Draft (Jan. 24 - Dec. 31, 1764)
Procedure:

Warm-up: Write-Pair-Share (10 minutes):
- Show image of Benjamin West's Penn's Treaty with the Indians (1771-72) and ask students to write and reflect on:
  - How are the colonists portrayed in this painting?
  - How are the native peoples portrayed in this painting?
  - What might have been Benjamin West's agenda for creating these portrayals?
Notes for the Teacher: Penn's Treaty with the Indians (1771-72) was commissioned by William Penn's son Thomas Penn. It depicts the meeting of William Penn and the Quakers, members of the Leni Lenape tribe, and merchants in Shackamaxon along the Delaware River.
- Divide students into pairs and have them share their responses with partners.
- Reset class and ask volunteer pairs describe their responses.
- Guide students to understanding about how images can shape popular understandings of peoples and histories.
- Refer to image of page 46 from Ghost River to introduce the lesson's objective.
Guided Review: Mini-Lecture (5-10 minutes):
- Review chronology of the Paxton incident using Ghost River and historical background excerpts.
Notes for the Teacher: The Paxton pamphlet war features dozens of political cartoons, pamphlets, and broadsides. Engravers like James Claypoole, who created Franklin and the Quakers, used these materials to attack their political opponents and influence popular opinion. This image depicts Benjamin Franklin conspiring with his political allies, the Quakers in the Pennsylvania Assembly, to arm their enemies, the Native American had attacked the colony during the Seven Years' War. It should be noted that the "Christian Indians" that the Paxton mob murdered (the Conestoga people) did not participate in any of that violence.

Activity (20 minutes):
- Break students into two groups (A and B) based upon their original Write-Pair-Share pairings.
- Group A will analyze the political cartoon Franklin and the Quakers (1764) and pages 36-40 of Ghost River. Students will draw connections between the political cartoon and the graphic novel using these questions:
  - How are Native Americans stereotyped in the political cartoon?
  - Why might the voices of local Native Americans have been suppressed or excluded from the political cartoons and pamphlets that circulated in the 1764 pamphlet war?
  - How does Ghost River give voice to those Native peoples?
- Group B will analyze excerpts from Diary of the Indian Gemeine in the Barracks of Philadelphia, Final Draft (Jan. 24- Dec. 31, 1764) and pages 36-40 of Ghost River. Students will draw connections between the diary and the graphic novel using these questions:
  - How do the diaries describe the experience of Moravian Indians interned in Philadelphia? How does that experience contrast with Benjamin West's idyllic scene (Penn's Treaty with the Indians)?
  - How do these diary entries give voice to the interned native peoples? Who gives voice to those peoples?
  - How does Ghost River represent the experience of interned Lenape and Moravian Indians?
Notes for the Teacher: The Diary of the Indian Gemeine in the Barracks of Philadelphia was recorded by Moravian missionaries who accompanied the Lenape and Moravian Indians interned in Philadelphia. These excerpts are recorded in German, and they have been transcribed and translated in order to make them accessible to the students. These excerpts describe their relocation from Province Island (where the Philadelphia Airport currently resides) to the Philadelphia Barracks (in what is today Northern Liberties).

Excerpts for Analysis:
January 25: We began to settle in a bit. The things that we had left behind on Province Island came to us, although our good Indians missed many things, particularly axes, that had been stolen. In the evening, Br. Grube held a service in his own room.

February 4: Br. Neusser and Ludwig Weiss visited us. We heard a lot of bad reports. In the afternoon, Captain Schlosser came and reported to us that we should move to the second story with the soldiers, because there were no keys if the rooms should be broken into. Because the order regarding the moving of the soldiers came so late, a great confusion arose between them and our poor Indians, who were chased from one place to another, particularly when a couple shots happened outside the barracks, so that everyone got alarmed and made ready to fight. We then had our hands full with our Indians, getting them in their lodgings, and quieting them.

February 20: After the early service, first Br. Schmick and then his wife visited the Indians in their rooms, and they found several sick.
Partner & Class Discussion (5 minutes):
- Have students return to their partners from the first Write-Pair-Share exercise and share and record their responses to the two different primary source materials they examined (the diary and the political cartoon).
- Ask pairs to answer a prompt and be prepared to share it with the class.
  - How were Native Americans represented in the two primary source documents?
  - Why might be these two documents tell such a different story about the Paxton incident?
  - How does Ghost River give Native peoples a voice?
- Have volunteer pairs share their answers with the class.
Assessment: Students will conduct research on their own by using either Digital Paxton or the Ghost River digital edition to find an additional printed, manuscript, or visual record that gives voices to the Conestoga, Lenape, or Moravian Indians. Students should justify their selections by describing how their records contrast with Benjamin West's Penn's Treaty with the Indians.

You may also download a printable version of this lesson.
Murder on the Frontier: The Paxton Massacres 5 Ron Nash and John McNamara image_header 2019-11-06T10:48:21-08:00
This unit is one of the Gilder Lehrman Institute's Teaching Literacy through History™ resources, designed to align to the Common Core State Standards. The lessons can also be modified to conform to the C3 Framework. These units were developed to enable students to understand, summarize, and evaluate original documents of historical significance. Students will learn and practice the skills that will help them analyze, assess, and develop knowledgeable and well-reasoned viewpoints on these source materials.

The title of this unit refers to a little-known massacre in colonial Pennsylvania. Over the course of three lessons, students will attempt to understand how a vigilante group justified its role in murdering twenty Native Americans. The primary source evidence will allow students to analyze questions related to claims about colonization, peace and war, race and ethnicity, masculinity and civility, the use of violence as a political weapon, and religious association. Most of the primary sources referenced here are available in Digital Paxton.

Ultimately, students will demonstrate what they have learned through an analysis of the various primary source materials by writing a response to essential questions posed for the unit, participating in whole-class and small-group discussions, and engaging in a news conference simulation.

Objectives
- Analyze both primary and secondary source documents using close-reading strategies
- Interpret, analyze, and demonstrate understanding of visual materials
- Draw logical inferences and summarize the essential message of a work of art
- Compose summaries of the major points in written primary sources
- Compare and contrast the viewpoints and perspectives of different writers
Essential Questions
- To what extent did fear of Native Americans develop into racial hatred in colonial Pennsylvania?
- To what extent can the rhetoric of fear incite a population to violence?
- To what extent did fear and racism shape colonial perceptions of neighboring Native Americans?
- How did the living conditions on the frontier contribute to confrontation and conflict between Native Americans and colonists?
- To what extent did the actions of the Paxton Boys disrupt or destroy William Penn's Peaceable Kingdom?
Number of Class Periods: 4

Grade Level: Grades 7-12

Common Core Standards
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.2: Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary that makes clear the relationships among the key details and ideas.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.6: Evaluate authors' differing points of view on the same historical event or issue by assessing the authors' claims, reasoning, and evidence.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.1: Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on . . . topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.1: Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.6: Determine an author's point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how an author uses rhetoric to advance that point of view or purpose.
This unit was created for the 2019 Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History Teacher Seminar, "Native Peoples, Settlers, and European Empires in North America, 1600-1840" (July 28-August 3, 2019). You may also download a printable version of the entire unit.
Preparing the Learner 3 Donna Sharer plain 2019-08-14T04:23:49-07:00
Lesson Overview
Introduce five key terms / concepts for the lesson. State the term and ask students to repeat the term (2 - 3 times). Have students complete the Knowledge Rating to assess if they understand the terms. Students understanding and use of the terms will increase as they use them throughout the unit. A Vocabulary Jigsaw is included to review the terms at the end of the unit.

NOTE: The Knowledge Rating includes cognates. For students whose first language (L1) is not Latin-based, the teacher may choose to provide a translation of the term.)

In the eighteenth-century, "frontier" was defined as a vulnerable, militarized boundary, not an area for expansion (Spero). In Spanish, "frontera" is a term for a national border.

Materials
Analyze Benjamin West Painting
1. Use the Primary Source Analysis Tool to model analysis of the Benjamin West's Penn's Treaty with the Indians (1771-72).
2. Distribute reproductions of the painting and the Primary Source Analysis Tool.
3. Have students complete the tool in pairs or triads.
4. As a class, share summaries about what they learned from the painting. What is the message? What may be misleading about the paintings? (buildings, clothing, position of people, etc.) Is the painting a primary source document? (No – it's an artist's rendition of an event created nearly 100 years after it occurred and it was commissioned by Penn's son, Thomas Penn.)
5. Ask students what the painting tells people about the relationship between European settlers and indigenous peoples?
Optional: Project Penn Wampum Belt (1682 Shackamaxon treaty). The belt was given to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania by William Penn's great grandson in 1857. Ask students to consider whether or not it is a primary source and what it might tell us about contact between European settlers and indigenous peoples.

Analyze historical maps of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Conestoga Manor
1. Students will analyze 5 historical maps of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Conestoga to locate the Conestoga Indiantown in relation to Philadelphia, Harrisburg, and the colony of Pennsylvania.
2. Model using the Primary Source Analysis Tool to analyze A Map of the Province of Pennsylvania (1756)
3. Divide the class into groups of 4 students. This is the "home group."
4. Give each member of the "home group" a different map. Tell students they will be responsible for teaching one map to other members of their home group.
5. Break into "expert groups." Each member of the "expert group" has the same map. Students should complete the Primary Source Analysis Tool for their map.
6. Return to the "Home Group." Each student will report their findings of the map.
7. As a class, discuss the summary of their findings about the maps.
Summary Quick Write
Project the Conestoga Indian Town Historical Marker and read the marker text:
About one mile eastwards stood the Conestoga Indian Town. Its peaceful Iroquoian inhabitants were visited by William Penn in 1701 who made treaties with them. In 1763 they were ruthlessly massacred by a frontier mob called the Paxtang Boys.

Students will summarize the historical maker: who, what, where, when.
1. Model who (Iroquoian inhabitants, "Paxtang Boys").
2. Ask students to find what, where, and when with a partner. (Students may benefit reading the text with the bold, italicized and underlined information.)
3. Review the summary.
4. Quick Write: What will be read in Ghost River? (In Ghost River, we will read about…)
Think/Write/Pair/Share
1. What did you learn about Pennsylvania, Philadelphia and Conestoga Indiantown based on the information on the maps? (I learned…)
2. What is the connection between the paintings, historical marker, and the maps? (The connection is…)
3. What did you learn from the historical marker? (We learned…)
Which Pennsylvania? Procedure 3 Eleanor Andersen plain 2019-02-09T14:07:04-08:00
Instruct students to bring a laptop or electronic device to class in order to read an online essay, complete a digital worksheet, and conduct light research. Make communal laptops available. Post learning objectives in the classroom.

Anticipatory (10 min)
- Distribute Do-Now sheets to students as they enter the classroom.
  - Give students five minutes to consider the sheet and write a short reflection.
- Direct students to think pair share reflections on the Do-Now with a neighbor.
  - Question: Which would convince most people to drink Coke?
- Call on pairs to share reflections with the class (as time allows).
  - Highlight student responses that reveal differences between the rhetorical impact of print and visual sources.
- Remind students to keep the Do-Now in mind.
- Explain that the class will:
  - Describe how print and visual sources contribute to histories of Pennsylvania.
  - Question the motivations for producing such sources in the eighteenth-century.
Teaching and Modeling / Guided Practice (40 min)
- Project Penn's Treaty with the Indians onto the board accompanied by the following quote.
- Read aloud the following quote from Voltaire’s "Letters on the English Nation":
  - "The first step he took was to enter into an alliance with his American [Indian] neighbours, and this is the only treaty between those people and the Christians that was not ratified by an oath, and was never infringed."
- Open class discussion of the painting and quote.
  - If needed, answer framing questions: What does this painting depict? What does the quote refer to? Who was Voltaire? Who was Benjamin West?
  - If needed, pose questions to prompt discussion: Is this painting and sentiment familiar to you? Have you heard this quote? What is your initial response? What is the overall idea these sources are trying to communicate?
  - Encourage students to share their thoughts (as time allows).
- Explain that the class will read an historical article that tells a different story about colonial Pennsylvania—the story of the Paxton Boys.
  - Instruct students to use laptops or devices to access Kevin Kenny’s Peaceable Kingdom Lost.
  - If pressed for time, or if teaching students at low reading level, assign a visual source, such as The German Bleeds & Bears Ye Furs, in the place of Peaceable Kingdom Lost.
- Upon completion, open class discussion.
  - Questions to prompt discussion: Is this story familiar to you? How does it square with the sentiment expressed by the paired image and quote? Why do you think this was written? How do they coexist?
  - If needed, emphasize truths in both stories. One story is not true to the complete exclusion of the other.
Independent Work (40 min)
- Distribute assignment sheet to students via Google Drive.
- Call on a student to read assignment sheet aloud. Students will read a primary source document discussing the events from the Peaceable Kingdom Lost. They will answer a series of questions designed to facilitate consideration of overarching questions. Students will submit their responses via Google Drive by the beginning of next class for grading.
Closure & Feedback
Grade student assignments mostly for completion, except in cases where students fail to engage with sources. Provide feedback and follow up questions to prompt further independent inquiry. Solicit student opinions on the assignment for the purpose of instructional reflection.
Download a printable version of this procedure.
Murder on the Frontier - Lesson 1 2 Ron Nash and John McNamara plain 2019-11-05T03:53:31-08:00
Students will read a secondary source that provides historical context for a selection of six images from the eighteenth century. They will then carefully examine each image, using the questions on an activity sheet to interpret the images. Their knowledge will be demonstrated through the completed activity sheets, class discussion, and a written response.

Objectives
- Demonstrate understanding of both literal and inferential aspects of written text- and image-based evidence
- Summarize the essential message of a visual primary source
- Draw conclusions based on direct evidence found in a visual primary source
Essential Questions
- To what extent did fear of Native Americans develop into racial hatred on the Pennsylvania frontier?
- To what extent can the rhetoric of fear entice a population to violence?
- To what extent did fear shape colonial perceptions of neighboring Native Americans?
Materials
- Benjamin West, Penn's Treaty with the Indians (1771-72)
- James Wimer, The Massacre of the Indians of Lancaster by the Paxton Boys in 1763 (1841)
- Charles Grignion (based on the artwork of Benjamin West), The Indians Giving a Talk to Colonel Bouquet (1766)
- [James Claypoole], An Indian Squaw King Wampum Spies (1764)
- [James Claypoole], The German Bleeds and Bears Ye Furs (1764)
- Henry Dawkins, The Paxton Expedition (1764)
Handouts
- Historical Background: "Peaceable Kingdom Lost" by Kevin Kenny, Glucksman Professor in Irish Studies, New York University. Commissioned for Digital Paxton.
- Activity Sheets
  - Analyzing an Essay for Lesson 1
  - Details, Description, and Decision activity sheet
- Primary Sources
  - 1. Benjamin West, Penn's Treaty with the Indians, 1771-72, oil on canvas, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Gift of Mrs. Sarah Harrison (The Joseph Harrison, Jr. Collection).
  - 2. "The Massacre of the Indians of Lancaster by the Paxton Boys in 1763," in [James Wimer], Events in Indian History, Beginning with an Account of the Origins of the American Indians, and Early Settlements in North America (Lancaster PA: G. Hills & Co., 1841), p. 488.
  - 3. Charles Grignion, "The Indians Giving a Talk to Colonel Bouquet in a Conference at a Council Fire . . . in Octr 1764," based on artwork by Benjamin West, in William Smith, An Historical Account of the Expedition against the Ohio Indians, in the Year 1764: under the Command of Henry Bouquet, Esq. . . . (Philadelphia, 1766).
  - 4. [James Claypoole], "An Indian Squaw King Wampum Spies," (Philadelphia, [1764]), Historical Society of Pennsylvania Large Graphics Collection (#V65).
  - 5. [James Claypoole], "The German Bleeds and Bears Ye Furs," ([Philadelphia], 1764), Historical Society of Pennsylvania Large Graphics Collection (#V65).
  - 6. Henry Dawkins, "The Paxton Expedition, Inscribed to the Author of the Farce, by HD," (Philadelphia, ca. 1764), Library Company of Philadelphia.
Materials
- Benjamin West, Penn's Treaty with the Indians (1771-72)
- James Wimer, The Massacre of the Indians of Lancaster by the Paxton Boys in 1763 (1841)
- Charles Grignion (based on the artwork of Benjamin West), The Indians Giving a Talk to Colonel Bouquet (1766)
- [James Claypoole], An Indian Squaw King Wampum Spies (1764)
- [James Claypoole], The German Bleeds and Bears Ye Furs (1764)
- Henry Dawkins, The Paxton Expedition (1764)
Procedure
1. Introduce the following Essential Questions:
  1. To what extent did fear of Native Americans develop into racial hatred on the Pennsylvania frontier?
  2. To what extent can the rhetoric of fear entice a population to violence?
  3. To what extent did fear shape colonial perceptions of neighboring Native Americans?
2. Distribute Part 1 of the Historical Background essay written by Professor Kevin Kenny. You may choose to assign the reading as homework before starting the lesson, and the students can complete the Analyzing an Essay activity sheet to prepare for the class discussion.
3. You may also choose to "share read" the document in class. This is done by having the students follow along silently while you begin to read aloud, modeling prosody, inflection, and punctuation. Then ask the class to join in with the reading after a few sentences while you continue to read aloud, still serving as the model. This technique will support struggling readers as well as English language learners (ELL).
4. If you introduce the reading in class during this lesson, distribute the Analyzing an Essay activity sheet after the reading activity. Depending on the students' experience with examining texts, you may choose to model the selection and analysis of the first phrase and, when the class is ready, the answer to the first critical thinking question. For the rest of the activity sheet, you may choose to have the students work individually, as partners, or in small groups of three or four.
5. After giving the students enough time to complete the activity, reconvene the whole class and discuss different interpretations developed by individual students or groups.
6. For the rest of the class period you may choose to have the students do the following activity individually, as partners, or in small groups of no more than three or four students. Depending on the time available, you may choose to provide a selection of the images or assign some image analysis as homework
7. Distribute Penn's Treaty with the Indians to the class along with the Details, Description, and Decision activity sheet.
8. Model the activity with the class for the first visual image, eliciting answers to the questions through class discussion.
9. Distribute images #2-#6 and the Details, Description, and Decision activity sheets (1 per image per student or group). The verses from three of the images are provided as well. You may ask the students to include the text in their analysis of the images.
10. After giving the students enough time to complete the activity sheets, reconvene the whole class and discuss different interpretations developed by the individual students or groups.
Assessment
Using the secondary source and the six visual images, students will select one of the essential questions and develop a viewpoint. They will then write a brief essay response to the essential question that they have chosen and support their viewpoint with evidence from the essay and visual sources.
- To what extent did fear of Native Americans develop into racial hatred on the Pennsylvania frontier?
- To what extent can the rhetoric of fear entice a population to violence?
- To what extent did fear shape colonial perceptions of neighboring Native Americans?