The Treaty of St. Louis of 1804 was a treaty concluded by William Henry Harrison on behalf of the United States of America and five Sauk and Meskwaki chiefs led by Quashquame.
The treaty transferred a huge area of land between the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers from the Sauk and Meskwaki to the United States. In return, the Sauk and Meskwaki received a lump-sum payment of $2234.50 and an annuity of $1000. This payment was far less than the value of the land. The signatory chiefs were not authorized to cede land by their tribes and probably did not understand the treaty. The Sauk and Meskwaki deeply resented the treaty and considered it invalid. It alienated them from the United States and encouraged them to ally with Britain, contributing to their support for the British during the later War of 1812.
Background
The Sauk and Meskwaki (or Fox) are closely related Algonquian peoples and traditional allies. At the beginning of the 19th century, they inhabited and controlled a territory along the Upper Mississippi River. This territory was roughly bounded by the Wisconsin River in the north, the Missouri River in the south, and the Des Moines River in the west. In modern terms, it consisted of northwestern Illinois, southwestern Wisconsin, and eastern Missouri.
At the beginning of the 19th century, the territory of the Sauk and Meskwaki fell within the borders claimed by the United States. In 1804, it fell within Indiana Territory, whose governor was the politically ambitious William Henry Harrison. President Thomas Jefferson wanted to open Indiana Territory to American settlement. To this end, he instructed Harrison to purchase the lands of the region’s tribes, authorizing him to employ pressure and trickery.
The Sauk and Meskwaki were each governed by a council of chiefs, which had the power to make treaties and sell land for the tribe, subject to custom. Sauk and Meskwaki custom required an elaborate procedure for the sale of land. First, the council had to receive an official invitation to negotiate a treaty to sell land. Second, the council had to announce this invitation to the tribe. Third, the council had to convene to consider the sale. Fourth, if the council decided to negotiate a sale, a “representative sample” of the tribe’s population had to be present at the negotiations to oversee and instruct the negotiators. Custom also required that the women of the tribe be consulted about any decision related to land, since they did most of the farming among both the Sauk and Meskwaki.
Events Leading Up to the Treaty
In 1802 - 1804, Sauk and Meskwaki hostility toward the United States began to increase. American settlers and hunters began moving into Sauk and Meskwaki territory. The Sauk and Meskwaki had a longtime, low-level conflict with the neighbouring Osage people. The American government began distributing goods to the Osage, but not the Sauk and Meskwaki. It also prevented the Sauk and Meskwaki from raiding the Osage in 1804. The Sauk and Meskwaki likely perceived these policies as support for the Osage. However, the American government probably intended only to halt destabilizing tribal warfare.
In August 1804, Sauk hunters murdered and scalped four American settlers who entered Sauk territory near the Missouri River. The Sauk chiefs denounced the murders, fearful of American retaliation. American officials sent a message to the Sauk demanding that they surrender the murderers for trial and inviting them to negotiate a solution to the murders.
The Sauk tribal council responded by sending a delegation of five chiefs to St. Louis, led by the Sauk chief Quashquame. One or more members of this delegation were Meskwaki. The council instructed the delegation to resolve the issue of the murders. It did not authorize the delegation to sell land.
The Treaty
In exchange for an annual payment of $1,000 in goods to be delivered to the tribe in St. Louis ($600 for the Sacs and $400 for the Fox), the tribes gave up a swath of land stretching from northeast Missouri through almost all of Illinois north of the Illinois River as well as a large section of southern Wisconsin. This treaty was deeply resented by the Sauk, especially Black Hawk, who felt that Quashquame was not authorized to sign treaties. This treaty led to many Sauk siding with the British during the War of 1812.
The specific terms for the boundary were: