Conspiracy of Interests: Iroquois Dispossession and the Rise of New York State, Paperback

The period between the American Revolution and the middle nineteenth century dramatically changed New York State and the Iroquois. Upstate metropolises--Utica, Syracuse, Rochester, and Buffalo--were founded and soon witnessed a phenomenal growth, making New York State one of the fastest-growing regions in the country. This development led to the displacement of the Iroquois. Initially, state officials attempted to force the Indians west. In his book, Laurence M. Hauptman shows how state transportation interests, land speculating companies, and national defense policies worked to undermine the Iroquois. When forced removal of the Indians failed, Albany officials pushed for jurisdiction over the Indians, including attempts to tax them.

Hauptman goes beyond simply recounting the tragedy that befell the Indians in New York. He includes memoirs and letters of gazetteers, travelers' accounts, tribal records, personal correspondence, and Indian petitions to Albany and Washington--eloquent documents that reveal a rich culture in crisis.

Laurence M. Hauptman is State University of New York Distinguished Professor of History at SUNY New Paltz. He is author of many books including The Iroquois in the Civil War: From Battlefield to Reservation, The Iroquois and the New Deal, and The Iroquois Struggle for Survival: World War II to Red Power, each published by Syracuse University Press. In 1997 he received an award of commendation from the Seneca Nation for his expert testimony that contibuted to congressional legislation in the Seneca-Salamanca controversy. In 1987 and again in 1998, Hauptman received the Peter Doctor Memorial Indian Scholarship Foundation Award for distinguished service in his research and writing on American Indians.