Loose Cannons and Lone Wolves: Native-White Violence on the American Frontier

Speaker: Dr Kiang Diao

Affiliation: French National Institute for Research on Agriculture, Food and the Environment

Zoom: https://uqz.zoom.us/j/82603079317

Abstract: Attention towards violent conflicts on the U.S. frontier typically focuses on the Plains Wars and other notable confrontations. However, using a novel dataset on deaths across more than 200 tribes in 21 states during the nineteenth century, we find that Native/white deaths were concentrated in the Southwest and California between 1840 and 1870. Exploiting exogenous mine discoveries, we show small groups preceding state capacity drove conflicts, which all but ceased when legal authority arrived. Furthermore, tribes with strong hierarchical organization and military strength had less frequent killings. These findings underscore the role of effective governance in reducing violence.