Red Jacket speech is orated in 1805 directed to the senate of United States exemplifying the essential elements of a strong and persuasive argument. Red Jacket was also referred to as Sagoyewatha; he was among the most excellent speakers and a chief from the eastern side of New York. Sagoyewatha got his name (Red Jacket) from his routine of wearing so many redcoats he got from the British. After the revolution, the Seneca’s and other Indians were faced with heavy pressure on their homelands. The Red Jacket led a group to meet George Washington in 1792; he was a grave negotiator and mediator between the United States government and Seneca’s. He received a peace medal for his leadership traits.
Tecumseh’s “The White Men Are not Friends with the Indians.”
Tecumseh was one of the early most significant figures in the Native resistance to the American settlers. Tecumseh was a Shawnee leader who used his skills in fighting the white settlers and their militia to earn his reputation in the Midwest. In unison with his brother, they brought together the Indians to collectively struggle against the white colonisers. He gives his speech to Osages in 1811 five years after Clark and Lewis finish exploring the Louisiana Territory.
Compare/contrast of the Speeches.
Both their speeches indicate their dislike for Christianity, and the white man’s arrival. Hence the two of welcoming and accepting the Great Spirit and Indian ancestors.
“They were feeble; they could do nothing for themselves. Our fathers commiserated their distress and shared freely with them whatever the Great Spirit had given his red children” Tecumseh.
“We took pity on them, granted their request; and they sat down amongst us. We gave them corn and meat; they gave us poison in return.” Red Jacket.
Nevertheless, Red Jacket and Tecumseh seem to differ on how they handle their reaction to the white settlers. Red Jacket questions their actions and does not judge their Christianity. Tecumseh, on the other hand, rejects everything, unlike red Jacket who seems open-minded about Christianity.
Works Cited
Densmore, Christopher. Red Jacket: Iroquois Diplomat and Orator. Syracuse: Syracuse Univ. Press, 1999. Print.
Life and Times of Red-Jacket. Applewood Books, 2010. Print.
Red, Jacket, and Granville Ganter. The Collected Speeches of Sagoyewatha, or Red Jacket. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse Univ. Press, 2006. Print.
Tucker, Glenn. Tecumseh: Vision of Glory. New York, NY: Cosimo, 2005. Print.
