Note: Our content on America’s first congressional investigation focuses on the history and development of legislative oversight as an essential element in good governance. Our efforts to capture this moment in history do not condone the treatment of Indigenous Americans by the U.S. government during that period. For more information about teaching about Native experiences with cultural competency, read the Framework for Essential Understandings about American Indians created by the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian.
Snapshot
Our snapshot of General St. Clair’s Defeat is a classroom-friendly of our Portrait in Oversight on the same topic. Each of our snapshots is a four-page summary of the historical event. Included in the download, you’ll find:
- Comprehension questions
- Discussion questions
- Answer key
- Audio recording of the snapshot
- Spanish translation of all materials
Video
We’ve partnered with Detroit PBS to bring you our Portraits in Oversight video series. Our video on General St. Clair’s Defeat is designed for use in the classroom and features expert commentary.
"The following pages contain the history of a very unfortunate campaign, the conducting of which had been committed to me; of the success of which very sanguine expectations had been formed: and that, by the effects of it, peace would be restored to the United States, and safety to the inhabitants of the western country; to which quarter great numbers of people, invited by the mildness of climate and the fertility of the soil, had removed."
The very first oversight investigation undertaken by the U.S. Congress occurred in 1792, just three years after the U.S. Constitution took effect. The inquiry dug into a significant U.S. military defeat, while also setting an important example in which the executive branch cooperated with a congressional oversight investigation.
During the late 1700s, the newly formed United States had begun expanding westward, and settlers in the Northwest Territories were increasingly facing conflict with Native Americans. General Arthur St. Clair was tasked with designing and executing an effective battle plan to address these conflicts. What happened next was the worst military defeat of U.S. forces by Native Americans in U.S. history. A furious President Washington requested an inquiry into what happened to cause such a terrible defeat. The Congressional investigation that followed became the precedent of governmental oversight and laid the foundation for Congress’ ability and authority to conduct investigations.
Content Standards
MI USHG — F1.2 Using the American Revolution, the creation and adoption of the Constitution, and the Civil War as touchstones, develop an argument about the changing character of American political society and the roles of key individuals across cultures in prompting/supporting the change.
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