Question

“We desire you will hear and receive what we have now told you, and that you will open a good ear and listen to what we are now going to say. This is a family quarrel between us and Old England. You Indians are not concerned in it. We don't wish you to take up the hatchet against the king's troops. We desire you to remain at home, and not join on either side, but keep the hatchet buried deep." —The Second Continental Congress, Speech to the Six Nations, July 13, 1775 Based on this speech, what did the American colonists want the Native Americans to do during the American Revolution?

Answer 1

The American colonists were eager to keep the Native American nations out of the mix when it came to the war with the British.  The Native Americans could have looked at this as an opportunity to cause trouble for the white colonists and take advantage of the situation.  Or the colonists could have looked at the Native American nations as potential allies and made promises to them if they assisted in the war effort.  But the colonists appealed to native nations with a message of friendship -- not asking them to join in war against Britain, but also that they not act against the colonists' cause.  

The quoted speech, by the way, was addressed to these Native American nations:  Mohawks, Oneidas, Tusscaroras, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senekas.

Answer 2

The American colonists were eager to keep the Native American nations out of the mix when it came to the war with the British.  The Native Americans could have looked at this as an opportunity to cause trouble for the white colonists and take advantage of the situation.