The Pioneers: The Heroic Story of the Settlers Who Brought the American Ideal West

“As would be observed by historians long afterward, the Northwest Ordinance was designed to guarantee what would one day be known as the American way of life.”

The Ordinance did not permit slavery and called for religious freedom and an emphasis on education. It embodied An Idealistic Vision for the Northwest Territory. McCullough associates its ideals with the best in American life.

“In any event, the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 would prove to be one of the most far-reaching acts of Congress in the history of the country.”

McCullough compares the Northwest Ordinance to the Declaration of Independence and England’s Magna Carta because it asserted the rights of individuals and applied to a vast territory in the US. It would shape the development of several states and would impact the balance of power between free and slavery-permitting states. McCullough credits M. Cutler for getting this legislation passed.

“At last, about one o’clock, Monday, April 7, the galley tied up near the Point, as it was known, latitude 39˚25’ North, longitude 81˚20’ West. The pilgrims aboard their Mayflower had landed at Plymouth Rock.”

After a long and arduous journey, the pioneers reached their destination in Ohio, or the Northwest Territory. McCullough here draws an analogy to the first pilgrims’ landing in Massachusetts in 1620, suggesting it was just as momentous a development for the new country.

“Indeed, it was and would remain his foremost intention to create a ‘new New England’ in the wilderness.”

Referring to Putnam, McCullough emphasizes An Idealistic Vision for the Northwest Territory. They wanted not only to make money and obtain land, but to build a community dedicated to the advancement of learning and respectful of individual rights.

“All the same, Cutler assured him, the ‘spark for emigration’ to the western country had ‘kindled into a blaze’ and numbers of families were preparing for the exodus.”

Already, in 1788, despite rumors of difficulties for the early settlers, The Allure of the West had taken hold. M. Cutler was writing to Putnam in this quoted exchange, describing the hold that Ohio fever had taken in New England.

“In conclusion, she said simply what so many New Englanders were raised on and was taken to heart by so many of the women there on the banks of the Ohio: ‘I will not afflict you with complaining.’”

McCullough, who uses letters and papers as primary sources, focuses mainly on the men among the pioneers. However, he includes some accounts about the female settlers. Here, he makes reference to the difficulties of pioneer life and the endless workload of women, while praising their tenacity and unwillingness to complain.

“Even more ominous to Rufus Putnam, as he stressed to the president, was the vanished presence of the numerous Delawares and Wyandots who for so long had been part of the everyday life in the settlement.”

As pioneers began to establish settlements outside of Marietta, Conflict with Indigenous Peoples became inevitable. Putnam, writing in late 1790, sensed growing problems, and in 1791, a group of settlers at Big Bottom was attacked.

“The new troops left much to be desired as to material for an army soon to embark on a campaign into the unfamiliar wilderness of enemy country. They consisted largely of men collected from the streets and jails of eastern cities bribed into service with money and whiskey.”

In response to calls for help with the pioneers’ Conflict with Indigenous Peoples, the President sent troops who were unprepared for service. The commander was not physically or intellectually up to the task either. As a result, the early battles were a disaster for the pioneers, with many lives lost. Those back in the settlement mainly stayed in the stockade and were fearful.

“At Marietta, the cloud of fear lifted at last. The settlers could come out of their blockhouses and return to their farms or trades at their pleasure. The entire community could get on with much that needed doing.”

After the early losses to Indigenous forces, President Washington named a new commander and dispatched well-trained and disciplined soldiers. These troops won an overwhelming victory against Indigenous forces, leading the way to a treaty that opened eastern and southern Ohio to settlers. These gains came at the expense of Indigenous peoples.

“That the son of Manasseh Cutler had come to Ohio and brought his family with him, and that he had so clearly come to stay, did much to lift the spirits of the earliest of the settlers.”

McCullough stresses the importance of M. Cutler to the settlement of Ohio in noting the reaction of the settlers to his son’s arrival. Additionally, McCullough reminds the reader of the adversities faced by the settlers in noting the need for their spirits to be lifted.

“Fully fifteen years after his father’s success in championing passage of the 1787 Northwest Ordinance abolishing slavery in the territory, he had carried the same banner of abolition and with success.”

Referring to E. Cutler’s tie-breaking vote to keep slavery illegal in Ohio’s constitution, McCullough emphasizes the commitment of the founding pioneers and their progeny to An Idealistic Vision for the Northwest Territory. In this case, E. Cutler was very ill but nonetheless cast his vote.

“By November speculations and rumors had turned to a strong sense of alarm nearly everywhere in the country, including the White House.”

Aaron Burr, who had killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel, was causing trouble, plotting the secession of western states. McCullough is careful to distinguish the Blennerhassetts, who were involved in the plot and lived just off the shores of Belpre, from the settlers of Marietta. They were atypical, wealthy, and McCullough notes, not one person from Marietta fled with Blennerhassett when he was on the run. Again, McCullough highlights adherence to ideals among the pioneers.

“When Graham told Blennerhassett he was an agent for the president to stop the expedition, Blennerhassett got up and walked out the door.”

Describing Blennerhassett as foolish and gullible, McCullough recounts how easily the federal agent was able to get him to talk about the plot of western secession. McCullough notes that the citizens of Marietta thought poorly of Blennerhassett, yet the shipbuilders in the town accepted his money to build the ships for Burr, accepting the story that the expedition had secret government approval.

“Far the most conspicuous evidence of this was the importance shipbuilding had become to the whole way of life, just as it had for so long in New England and just as Rufus Putnam and Manasseh Cutler and others had foreseen.”

The early pioneers in Marietta sought to re-create “the city upon a hill,” which the Puritans had hoped to establish in Massachusetts. In noting how Marietta became very much like a New England town, McCullough is testifying to the success of An Idealistic Vision for the Northwest Territory.

“The flow of humanity westward down the Ohio River bound for Virginia or Kentucky kept growing. ‘Ohio Fever’ had become epidemic. In a single decade, from 1800 to 1810, the population of Ohio grew from 45,365 to 230,760.”

The Allure of the West strengthened as more settlements were made. The first settlers of Marietta had started a trend of western migration that would ultimately sweep across the continent.

“Of the many concerns in Ohio, greatest and most immediate was that the British would rekindle the ‘Indian menace’ [. . .] particularly in the northwest corner of the state.”

While there was opposition to the War of 1812 in New England and Ohio for economic reasons, the fear of re-igniting the Conflict with Indigenous Peoples was the foremost concern in Ohio. In the minds of the pioneers, the success of their settlements and their safety depended on the removal of Indigenous peoples. American forces were victorious in these battles and the settlements were protected.

“Among those who spoke out in favor of public schools was Joseph Barker, who had also become a member of the House. As his daughter would one day recall, his speech had been written in the hope that the poor as well as the rich might receive the advantage of education.”

An educated populace was part of the idealistic vision of the early settlers of Marietta. Barker and E. Cutler fought in the Ohio state legislature to pass a bill that would ensure the creation and funding of common schools true to that original vision.

“No one had played so important a role in the creation of the settlement or shown such leadership, perseverance, and strength of character without fail.”

Referring to Putnam, McCullough highlights the impact of leaders on events. This one person contributed so much to realizing the ideals set out in the Northwest Ordinance.

“The gap between the dream and the reality was immense. Ohio was in fact without a school system, except for a few ‘enterprising’ towns like Marietta, as well as Cincinnati and Cleveland, where schools were local creations.”

The lack of schooling in most of the territory meant that the tax bill, which would finance public schools, was very important to E. Cutler and other supporters of education. Even with the bill passed, the challenges in establishing schools with qualified teachers on the frontier were enormous. Marietta, with its intellectually curious leaders, was an exception.

“Now, speaking from the Congregational pulpit, Ephraim expressed his earnest wish that ‘this enlightened audience will all join me in declaring that if ignorance could be banished from our land, a real millennium would commence.’”

Addressing those at Washington County’s Agricultural Fair, which was the biggest community event of the year, E. Cutler emphasized the ideal of an educated populace. He carried on the work of his father M. Cutler, Putnam, and the other early pioneers who sought to ensure education in the western settlements.

“If there was a reality of American life that Frances Trollope, Charles Dickens, and others found most disgraceful and unacceptable, it was the removal of the native tribes to more remote reservations to the west, brought on by the members of Congress.”

The Conflict with Indigenous Peoples and their subsequent forced removal stood in stark contrast to the professed ideals of individual rights held by the settlers. Foreign visitors noticed this hypocrisy. While McCullough here states that Congress was responsible for this displacement, clearly the national government acted in response to the wishes of the white settlers.

“Marietta cannot, it is true, vie with Cincinnati and some other towns in population, but there is a quiet elegance and beauty in this place, that no other which I have seen in this region, can boast.”

Quoting from Amasa Walker’s description of Marietta, McCullough draws attention to the similarity between Marietta and New England. The author emphasizes the accomplishments of Marietta, which constructed institutions and created an orderly society in such a short time. McCullough attributes these accomplishments to the character of the early pioneers.

“All along the Ohio River, slavery was a growing cause of contention and particularly in and about Marietta, which had become one of the main escape routes for runaway slaves in what had become known as the Underground Railroad.”

Just as their ancestors who first came to Marietta had done, the next generations of Marietta citizens resisted slavery. David Putnam and probably E. Cutler participated in the Underground Railroad. An Idealistic Vision for the Northwest Territory was thus still alive.