Cultivating Empire: Capitalism, Philanthropy, and the Negotiation of American Imperialism in Indian Country

Cultivating Empire explores the connections between missionary work, capitalism, and Native politics to understand the making of the American empire in the late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth centuries. It shows how Native authority and diplomatic protocols encouraged the U.S. federal government to partner with missionaries in Indian affairs, borrowing and deviating from earlier imperial-missionary partnerships. It argues that Native peoples wielded ideas of philanthropy and civilization for their own purposes and that Indian Country played a critical role in the construction of the U.S. imperial state and its economy.

Format: Hardback
Length: 264 pages
Publication date: 20 September 2022
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press

Cultivating Empire delves into the intricate web of connections between missionary work, capitalism, and Native politics to unravel the intricate tapestry of the American empire's emergence in the late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth centuries. This groundbreaking work presents American empire-building as a meticulously negotiated phenomenon, drawing upon the rich foundations of earlier Atlantic empires. It vividly showcases how U.S. territorial and economic development seamlessly intertwined, creating a formidable force that shaped the nation's destiny.

Lori. J. Daggar, in her insightful exploration, delves into the dynamics of Native authority and diplomatic protocols, which played a pivotal role in fostering a partnership between the fledgling U.S. federal government and missionaries in the realm of Indian affairs. Through meticulous research, Daggar charts how this partnership borrowed and diverged from earlier imperial-missionary partnerships, shedding light on the complex interplay of motivations and outcomes.

Employing the terminology of speculative philanthropy, Cultivating Empire highlights the profound intersection of a desire to do good with a relentless pursuit of profit. It uncovers how eighteenth- and early-nineteenth-century U.S. Indian policy, often portrayed as benevolent by its architects, was intricately linked to the emergence of racial capitalism in the United States. Daggar argues that Native peoples harnessed the concepts of philanthropy and civilization for their own purposes, leveraging them as powerful tools in their quest for power and survival.

In this profound analysis, Cultivating Empire challenges the conventional understanding of civilizing missions as mere instruments of assimilation. It reveals that missions served as pivotal hinges for U.S. economic and political development, wielding both devastating consequences for Indigenous communities and offering Native peoples new avenues for negotiation and resilience. By examining the multifaceted relationships between missionary work, capitalism, and Native politics, this book provides a comprehensive and nuanced understanding of the complex forces that shaped the American empire's formation.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781512823295