Benjamin Hawkins Indian Agent External Links Further Reading

Benjamin was born to Philemon and Delia Martin Hawkins on August 15, 1754, the third of four sons. The family farmed and operated a plantation in what was then Granville County, North Carolina, but is now Warren County. He attended Princeton in New Jersey but left in his last year to join the Continental ArmyThe Continental Army was the unified command structure of the thirteen colonies fighting Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. The Army was created by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 15, 1775. Most of the Continental Army w. He was commissioned a Colonel and served for several years on George WashingtonGeorge Washington ( February 22, 1732— December 14, 1799), also called Father of his Country 1 was an American general and Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War ( 1775 1783) and later the first President of the Unite's staff as his main interpreter for FrenchFrench le francais la langue francaise is one of the most important Romance languages, outnumbered only by Spanish and Portuguese. French is the 11th most spoken language in the world, spoken by about 77 million people (called Francophones) as a mother to.

Hawkins was released from federal service late in 1777 as Washington learned to rely on Lafayettte for dealing with the French. He returned home, and was elected to the North Carolina House of Representatives in 1778Events "The term Thoroughbred was first used in the United States in an advertisement in a Kentucky gazette to describe a New Jersey stallion called Pilgarlick. January 18 Third Pacific expedition of Capt. James Cook, with ships HMS Resolution and HMS Dis. He served there until 1779, and again in 1784. The Carolina Assembly sent him to the Continental Congress as their delegate from 1781 to 1783, and again in 1787.

In 1789Events January 7 First nationwide United States election January 21 The first American novel, The Power of Sympathy or the Triumph of Nature Founded in Truth is printed in Boston, Massachusetts January 23 Georgetown College becomes the first Catholic coll he was a delegate in the North Carolina convention that ratified the United States ConstitutionLaw for the United States of America The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America and is the oldest written national constitution still in force. It was completed on September 17, 1787, with its adoption by the. He was then elected to the first U.S. Senate, and served from 1789 to 1795Events January 16 French occupy Utrecht, Netherlands. January 20 French troops enter Amsterdam and later proclaim Batavian Republic. January 23 Dutch fleet freezes in Issel Meer. February 7 The 11th Amendment to the United States Constitution is passed.. Although the Senate did not have organized political parties at the time, his views shifted during his term. Early in his Senate career, he was counted in the ranks of those Senators viewed as Pro-Administration, but by the third congress, he generally sided with Senators of the Republican or Anti-Administration Party.

1 Indian Agent

In 1785 Hawkins had served as a representative for the Congress in negotiations with the Creek Indians. He was generally successful, and convinced that tribe to lessen their raids for several years, although he couldn't conclude a formal treaty. The Creek wanted to deal with the head man, and finally signed the Treaty of New York after Hawkins convinced Washington to become involved.

In 1796 Washington appointed Benjamin Hawkins as General Superintendent of Indian Affairs dealing with all tribes south of the Ohio River. He personally assumed the role of principle agent to the Creek tribe. He moved to the area that is now Crawford County in Georgia. He was adopted by the Creeks, and took one of their women as his common-law wife.

He began to teach agricultural practices to the tribe, starting a farm at his home on the Flint River. In time he brought in slaves and workers, cleared several hundred acres, and established mills and a trading post as well as his farm. His operation expanded until he had over 1,000 cattle and a large number of hogs. For years he would meet with chiefs on his porch and discuss matters while churning butter. His personal hard work and open-handed generosity won him such respect that reports say that he never lost an animal to Indian raiders.

He was responsible for the longest period of peace between the settlers and the tribe, overseeing 19 years of peace. When a fort was built in 1806 to protect expanding settlements, just west of modern Macon, Georgia, it was named Fort Hawkins.

Hawkins saw much of his work toward building a peace destroyed in 1812. A group of Creeks, led by Tecumseh were encouraged by British agents to resistance against increasing settlement by whites. Although he personally was never attacked, he was forced to watch an internal civil war among the Creeks, the war with a faction known as the Red Sticks, and their eventual defeat by Andrew Jackson.

Benjamin never recovered from this shock. He had tried to resign his post, and return from the Georgia wilderness, but his resignation was refused by every president after Washington. He remained Superintendent until his death on June 6, 1818. On his death bed he married the women who had given him four children over the years. Benjamin Hawkins was buried at the Creek Agency, on the Flint River near Roberta, Georgia. The modern Ocmulgee National Monument includes the site of the original Fort Hawkins.

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3 Further reading

C. L. Grant (editor); "Benjamin Hawkins: Letters, Journals and Writings" (2 volumes); 1980, Beehive Press, volume 1: BooksEnthsiast.com, volume 2: BooksEnthsiast.com.
Florette Henri; "The Southern Indians and Benjamin Hawkins, 1796-1816"; 1986, University of Oklahoma Press, BooksEnthsiast.com.
Thomas Foster (editor); "The Collected Works of Benjamin Hawkins, 1796-1810"; 2003, University of Alabama Press, BooksEnthsiast.com.

Preceded by: none	Senators from North Carolina	Succeeded by: Timothy Bloodworth
Served alongside: Samuel Johnston, Alexander Martin

Hawkins, Benjamin Hawkins, Benjamin Hawkins, Benjamin Hawkins, Benjamin

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