The Indian Question

Walker, Francis Amasa, 1840-1897Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.0

Word count: 329K words
Chapters: 33

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Indian Question by Francis Amasa WalkerAuthor: Walker, Francis Amasa, 1840-1897,Language: English, Class: E151: History: America: United States, Release Date: Oct 26, 2008

Editor's review

This book is Francis Amasa Walker's historical document on the American Indian question; the author was a former United States Commissioner of Indian Affairs, and his discussion bears the clear imprint of his era and policy perspective. As a free Project Gutenberg e-book, it gives readers zero-cost access to the original text and is suitable as historical material for studying nineteenth-century American racial policy, westward expansion, and federal-tribal relations. Readers should note that its standpoint belongs to the official discourse of the time and should not be taken as a neutral account; it is best read against later historiographical criticism. It is not long and works well as supplementary material for specialized research or as a basis for classroom discussion.

Who it's for

A good fit for

History students specializing in nineteenth-century American Indian policy
General readers interested in U.S. western history and race relations
College students who need original English historical sources for course papers

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting contemporary Native American perspectives
Beginners with limited English reading ability who need a Chinese translation
Casual readers who only want light, story-style history books

Reading tips

Read the introduction or preface first to understand Walker's official position and writing context, then move into the main text.
Read alongside modern historical scholarship, marking and annotating passages that carry the biases of the era.
Select the chapters on land policy and tribal administration for close thematic reading.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

What is the author's standpoint in this book?

Walker was a former United States Commissioner of Indian Affairs, and the book's discussion reflects the official perspective and policy logic of the late nineteenth-century federal government, with clear period limitations. It should be read as a sample of historical discourse rather than as an objective, neutral scholarly conclusion.

In what format is the e-book best read?

Project Gutenberg offers several formats, readable on a computer or e-reader. A reading app that supports annotation is recommended so you can record doubts about the original's standpoint and comparative notes at any time.

Can I read it without a background in American history?

You can, but your understanding will suffer. It is advisable to first gain a basic outline of American westward expansion and federal Indian policy, then read this book, so you can better judge the target and bias of the author's argument.

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About the author

Walker, Francis Amasa, 1840-1897 Author · American · 1840–1897

Francis Amasa Walker (1840–1897) was an American economist and statistician who served as president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Public information about him is limited, so biographical details cannot be elaborated here; however, his representative work included in our catalogue, The Indian Question, shows his concern with the practical issue of American Indian affairs. The book belongs to socio-economic and public-policy writing, marked by the empirical and argumentative style common among nineteenth-century American scholars, drawing on data and institutional analysis to discuss the situation of Native peoples and related policy arrangements. Such works reflect the continued attention of American intellectual circles of the time to population, land, and ethnic governance, and offer a historical text of reference for later study of American social policy in that period.