| Chapter 1: | Romantic Antiquarian Literature |
Illustration 1. A prehistoric earthwork in Greenup County, Kentucky, from Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley (1848) by Ephraim G. Squier and Edwin H. Davis (82).
In this milieu, with the degraded condition of the conquered advertised as evidence of inferiority, an ideology was propagated claiming Euro-American superiority over the indigenous population. Yet also in the westward push, evidence to the contrary came to light. Reports of massive earthworks and curious artifacts in the areas encompassing the states of Kentucky, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin flowed back east, fascinating and puzzling the public.
By December of 1831, Tocqueville had made considerable progress on his journey. During a boat ride on the Mississippi bound for New Orleans, he met a passenger well acquainted with the western territories and their indigenous inhabitants, which gave Tocqueville an opportunity to inquire about rumors he had heard:
Q.Is it true that the valley of the Mississippi shows signs of the passage of a race of men more civilised than those who inhabit it today?