dier, the
timid maiden, the brave woman, the purity of nature, and the noble savage are all the romantic
aspects of Cooper's novel, The Last of the Mohicans (Quinn 59).
The 1820's were an age of great transition for the United States. Just eight years before
the United States had defeated the British in the War of 1812. The United State's industrial
economy was beginning to grow and pioneers had pushed as far west as Minnesota. With the
expansion westward also came a problem for the US government. With the public majority in
favor of the removal of the Indians from the path of westward expansion, the US government was
forced to break treaties and use military action to remove Indians from the west. Native cultures
were being decimated and the general public perceived the Indians as a constant danger. The
Indians were continually being pushed west and were slaughtered at any sign of resistance. In
order to pay tribute to the vanishing Native American culture and to show the "true character" of
the Native Americans, Cooper published The Last of the Mohicans in 1826 (Stanley and
...