In Of One Mind and Of One Government Kevin Kokomoor examines the
formation of Creek politics and nationalism from the 1770s through
the Red Stick War, when the aftermath of the American Revolution
and the beginnings of American expansionism precipitated a crisis
in Creek country. The state of Georgia insisted that the Creeks
sign three treaties to cede tribal lands. The Creeks objected
vigorously, igniting a series of border conflicts that escalated
throughout the late eighteenth century and hardened partisan lines
between pro-American, pro-Spanish, and pro-British Creeks and their
leaders. Creek politics shifted several times through historical
contingencies, self-interests, changing leadership, and debate
about how to best preserve sovereignty, a process that generated
national sentiment within the nascent and imperfect Creek Nation.
Based on original archival research and a revisionist
interpretation, Kokomoor explores how the state of Georgia's
increasingly belligerent and often fraudulent land acquisitions
forced the Creeks into framing a centralized government, appointing
heads of state, and assuming the political and administrative
functions of a nation-state. Prior interpretations have viewed
the Creeks as a loose confederation of towns, but
the formation of the Creek Nation brought predictability,
stability, and reduced military violence in its domain during the
era.