Part II, Chapter III: Pike's Return

Throughout the 1820's, as Catholic American and Canadian migration to the Minnesota territory reached its peak levels, many of the names of the prior French settlements that became stepping stones for further colonization had become "Anglicized" as a result of the new majority language. Many of the fur trading establishments that were characterized by the prefix of "Fort" to their names had these designations eliminated as the definition of a fort had changed from a European settlement to a military defensive structure in the early 19th century, and thus signified their change into more residential sites of development. Settlements and colonies like Fort du Luht and Fort Beauharnois which had ballooned in size became Duluth (which would later annex and incorporate Fort Le Sueur and its settlers) and Lake Pepin, respectively, and similar changes had already occurred in the Wisconsin and Michigan territories to the towns now known as Green Bay, Prarie du Chien and Sault Sainte Marie, which had also seen a respective rise in Anglo-centered migrants in the early 1800's. Expansion also began to occur in areas west of the Mississippi that had previously been devoid of white settlement, including Iowa, which saw the reconstruction of the lone United States Army fort of Fort Madison after its abandonment in 1813. It was appropriately renamed simply "Madison" in 1815 and was the eventual home of roughly 20 permanent American Catholic settlers by 1820, and these settlers helped foster friendly relations with the Natives surrounding the old Fort, as conversely hostile relations had lead to attacks in 1809 and 1813 and its subsequent abandonment. The first permanent settlement in Nebraska had also been constructed by the Missouri Fur Trading Company in the later years of the 1810's, later named Bellevue in 1822, and was home to roughly 15 permanent Protestant American settlers and 30 - 40 seasonal summer and winter traders.



The most unarguably important establishment in the Northwoods frontier (as it was aptly named by the American press in 1819) however was the significant Fort Pike. The end of the War of 1812, even despite the "Era of Good Feelings," had left the United States with a large amount of post-war debt, and the displacement of up to 500,000 Anglo-Canadians west to British Columbia through subsidy had left a large gap in means to pay for the rapidly accumulating monetary deficit. The payment of roughly half of these government provided subsidies (as Great Britain had paid for the other half) to Canadian refugees by 1821 had also further increased the United States' eagerness to eliminate its post war debt, and it thus began to search for businesses and enterprises that had previously escaped or had remain closed to taxation and government regulation. The introduction of accessibility to the northwestern portions of the Michigan Territory due to the monopolization of the Great Lakes and the large population growth in the area that resulted had shifted the United States' attention to the area, and a dramatic effort to tax the profitable but declining fur trade before it died out in the Minnesota and Wisconsin regions was regarded as one of many easy solutions to fix the post-war debt crisis. However, legislation passed from Washington in 1816 (later colloquially called "The Fur Trade Tax") that explicitly required fur traders in the Michigan Territory to pay taxes on their revenue had gone largely ignored, and neither the United States Army (who was busy fighting a near-war of insurrection with remaining Canadian dissenters and Native Americans) nor any real arm of the federal government could spare assets to enforce the new law, as government presence in the territory had no jurisdiction nor any real physical foundation out of which it could operate to regulate further taxation. Thus, in 1818, contracted work for construction of a federal and unnamed military installation in order to mitigate the Fur Trade Tax issue upriver from Lake Pepin began, and these contracts were later granted in 1819, and construction quickly began by spring.



Zebulon Pike, the hero of the War of 1812, personally requested assignment to oversee the project and command the fort himself, as he had longed to return to the Minnesota territory ever since his departure in the 1800's. This assignment was regarded as a demotion in command, although not one that would necessitate a demotion in rank (as Pike had previously managed an entire campaign of multiple divisions in Ontario during the war), but he was nonetheless granted the request by Winfield Scott as a personal favor, as Pike was also nearing retirement regardless. In honor of Pike and his family's arrival at the site of the fort in 1821 to much fanfare, it was quickly christened Fort Pike in his honor, much to his humility and objection. By 1825, construction of the Fort had been completed, and settlements from continually migrating American Catholics filtered into the area, emboldened by the sense of security that the Fort provided from Ojibwa and Sioux natives, even though these natives were still on friendly terms with both the United States government and white settlers. The arrival of the entirety of the 5th Infantry Regiment, who had been reassigned to the Fort upon its completion, also helped quell a sense of rising tension between the Natives (of which only 10,000 remained in Minnesota) and white settlers. Saint Anthony Falls, the famous site that Father Hennepin had discussed (and embellished) in his published "Description de la Louisiane" in 1683, and the only natural waterfall on the entire Upper Mississippi River, quickly became a point of attraction and eventual settlement, and the appropriately named town of Saint Anthony Falls saw 400 American Catholics and 100 European Catholics call the picturesque riverside settlement home by 1827. Pike, now seeing the end of his last assignment, retired from military service in 1825 and likewise settled in the nearby Falls area, which laid only 8 miles north from the ominously-appearing Fort Pike, and in direct line of sight of its massive fortifications and military hardware, which provided a strange contrast to the natural beauty of the newly founded settlement.



The Fort's foundation quickly lead to regulation of the fur trade, and as a result a sharp decrease in its profitability. The once lucrative business that had once dominated the Northwoods for over three centuries had finally begun to draw to a close, and the decrease in demand in Europe and the resulting drop in exportation of North American furs lead to a large amount of dissent for many Minnesota and Wisconsin fur trading settlers, as those who had not converted to an agrarian or manufacturing practice prior to the Fort's establishment (as many fur traders had) were quickly forced to find a new line of work. The elusiveness of remaining tax-evading fur traders, however, was still at large, and harsh penalties delivered from both tax collectors and federal regulatory bureaus stationed at Fort Pike were viewed with relative and growing disdain. This did little to hamper migration to the territories, however, and by 1827, the Minnesota territory alone was called home by nearly 18,000 American, Canadian and original French settlers, with an increasingly large Catholic majority. The sharp increase was mostly due in part to the introduction of the federal 5th Infantry Regiment, which had likewise invited nearly 3,000 additional permanent residents and the families of its officers. The death of the fur trade thus lead to widespread adoption of agrarian practices, due in part to much less regulation and taxation, and by late 1826 accounted for nearly 90% of family revenue in the combined Northwood regions. Reinvestment into manufacturing quickly made up the other 10%, and both Duluth and Saint Anthony Falls in addition to Lake Pepin saw an explosion of paper mills and printing presses around the shores of Lake Superior and the Mississippi River throughout 1826 and 1827. The remainder of the Ojibwa, Sioux, Sauk and native Fox populations had also rapidly displaced from the territories following the foundation of Fort Pike and its inclusion of a large military garrison, as well as other military forts established in Green Bay and Prarie du Chien, and by 1827 the death of the fur trade had seen a dramatic upheaval of these populations to the west into the unincorporated Dakota Territory in search of further enterprises that yielded greater profitability.



The year 1826, a year after Pike's retirement from military service, also saw his nomination by General Scott to the President, John Quincy Adams, to fill the empty position of Governor of the Michigan Territory, as William Hull, its former sitting governor, had died while in office of natural causes in 1825 after being reinstated as governor in 1813 following his liberation and the retaking of Detroit during the War of 1812 at the hands of Zachary Taylor. Pike reluctantly accepted the nomination after two long months of procrastination, (mostly credited to objection from his family), but stated his desire to not relocate to the city of Detroit, where the seat of Governor was held. The federal government quickly reworked regulation regarding residency requirements for the seat of Governor, which was actively seeking a competent replacement as the temporary acting Governor (former Lieutenant Governor) of the territory had proven to be grossly inept, and by the end of 1826, Pike had been appointed Governor of the Michigan Territory without ever having set foot in its actual namesake during his tenure. The gradual relocation of Michigan Territory offices to Saint Anthony Falls also lead to further increases in population in the Minnesota territory throughout the latter years of the 1820's.