Burke Hendrix has posted, “What to the Indian is the Fourth of July? – William Apess in Democratic Context” on SSRN. Here is the abstract:

Theorists who investigate the idea of “the people” in democratic theory often focus on the ways in which excluded groups seek to become full members of the more encompassing demos. This approach is especially pronounced when historical figures in American political thought are considered. Frederick Douglass is often seen as an exemplar, in seeking to foster a vision of the American demos that did not yet exist at the time of his speeches and writings. Yet those who attempted to shape visions of the American demos did not always seek inclusion – in the case of many American Indian actors, they sought instead a measured political separation. This paper will investigate the attempts of Pequot orator William Apess to shape a vision of the American nation and of separate Indian nations in the 1820’s and 1830’s. The essay will look particularly at Apess’s attempt to claim moral citizenship in the human community without claiming political citizenship in the United States, and will consider the challenges posed by this attempt to claim political equality without political membership. The essay will focus especially on Apess’s “An Indian’s Looking-Glass for the White Man” (1833) and his “Eulogy on King Philip” (1836), while seeking to put them within the context of David Walker’s work on race in America and the Cherokees’ attempt to resist government-mandated Removal.