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Difficulty: HardWestward Migration, Frontier Conflicts, and Border Treaties

"Art. 3. The general boundary line between the lands of the United States, and the lands of the said Indian tribes, shall be as follows... [The Indian tribes] cede to the United States... all the lands eastward, southward and westward of the lands before described...

Art. 4. In consideration of the peace now established and of the cessions and relinquishments of land... the United States will deliver to the said Indian tribes a quantity of goods to the value of twenty thousand dollars..."
— Treaty of Greenville, 1795

Based on the map and the excerpt, which of the following factors most directly enabled the United States government to negotiate the treaty described?

  1. The creation of a stronger federal government under the Constitution with the power to raise military forces and levy taxes to secure the frontierAnswer
  2. B
    The execution of the Northwest Ordinance during the Articles of Confederation period, which had peacefully resolved territorial disputes with indigenous populations
  3. C
    A unified consensus between Hamilton's Federalists and Jefferson's Democratic-Republicans to prioritize agrarian expansion over commercial trade with Great Britain
  4. D
    The reliance on decentralized state militias to repel foreign incursions without the intervention of a federal standing army

Answer

The creation of a stronger federal government under the Constitution with the power to raise military forces and levy taxes to secure the frontier
The correct answer is correct because the ratification of the Constitution in 1788 created a federal government with the power to raise revenues and maintain a professional standing army (the Legion of the United States). This military capability allowed the United States to defeat the Western Confederacy at the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794, forcing the Native American tribes to negotiate and cede vast territories in the Treaty of Greenville.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the Treaty of Greenville (1795) and the context of the Northwest Indian War.
The treaty established peace and ceded major native lands in the Northwest Territory to the United States after the Battle of Fallen Timbers.
Understanding the immediate historical event is necessary to evaluate the factors enabling the treaty.
2
Compare the capabilities of the Confederation government with the Constitutional government regarding frontier defense.
Under the Articles of Confederation, the government was broke and couldn't raise a national army, leaving the frontier vulnerable. The Constitution enabled a professional military force (the Legion of the United States) and taxes to fund it.
This establishes the link between constitutional reform and military success on the frontier.
3
Identify the correct option that matches this constitutional shift and reject distractors.
The correct option correctly attributes the victory to the powers of the Constitution, while distractors falsely attribute peace to the Articles of Confederation or state militias, or assume bipartisan consensus.
This resolves the multiple-choice selection based on historical evidence.

Key Concept

Westward Migration, Frontier Conflicts, and Border Treaties
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Topics

Westward Migration, Frontier Conflicts, and Border Treaties

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