Alexander Mcgillivray Research Paper

Being a Creek leader in the 1780s and 1790s, Alexander McGillivray was one of many Southeastern Indians with a Native American mother and European father. He used his European powers to protect Creek interests, and created nationalist reforms within Creek society. He used trade to increase his own position on the southern frontier.
McGillivray was born in 1750 in Little Tallassee which is located near present-day Montgomery, Alabama. His father, Lachlan McGillivray, was a Scottish trader and his mother, Sehoy, a creek woman. McGillivray grew up as a member of the Creek Wind clan just like his mother. His father would teach him about the colonial people. Before returning back to Creek society in 1777, he had lived in Augusta, received an education in Charleston, South Carolina, and held a business in Savannah.
Near the start of the American Revolution war, McGillivray permanently returned to Little Tallassee because the Patriots confiscated his father's property in South Carolina. When he returned to the Creeks, McGillivray discovered that his ability and understanding of both societies allowed
The politics of Creek society allowed villages to sign treaties as actual people which threatened McGillivray’s ability to protect the Creek’s. McGillivray tried to create centralized power within the Creek Nation. The traditions from traditional villages faced many threats from within Creek society. McGillivray used his connections as the nephew of Red Shoes, the Koasati leader, and his control of trade to weaken his opposition. The Yazoo Land Grants by Georgia and the federal government's wish to take control of Indian affairs led to U.S. president, George Washington, signing the 1790 Treaty of New York, in which the United States promised to defend Creek rights. This treaty created a relationship between the United States and the Creek Nation and affirmed McGillivray's position as a legitimate national