Did you know that American presidents were cursed by a Native American medicine man? After the 13 Colonies got their independence, the British handed over all their land south of Canada and east of the Mississippi. Part of that, the area north of the Ohio River, was called the Northwest Territory. It was just a matter of time before whites would settle this area. Over the years several treaties were made with Indian tribes ceding parts of the territory. But always, the whites came back for more. Resistance to white expansion was organized by a Shawnee Indian chief named Tecumseh. Tecumseh was a charismatic leader who had the dream of uniting the Indian tribes to stand up to white encroachment on their lands and in their culture. He had a brother named Tenskwatawa who became a respected spiritual leader. He was called The Prophet. Tenskwatawa had had a rough upbringing. Their father had been killed in a battle with the whites before he was born and their mother ran away not long after. He was raised by relatives. He did not grow up to be a warrior, and in fact he lost an eye in a self-inflicted accident with an arrow. He became an alcoholic. However, one night he had a vision that encouraged him to clean up his act and advise other Indians to turn their backs on white culture, including whiskey drinking. He attracted followers. He partnered up with his warrior brother. The Governor of the Indiana Territory was William Henry Harrison. He felt one part of his job was to get more land from the Indians. Harrison knew that the brothers stood in his way. To call into question The Prophets powers, he challenged him to prove he was in tune to the spirit world. In response, Tenskwatawa accurately predicted a solar eclipse. Harrison’s challenge backfired as The Prophet’s reputation grew.
Tecumseh and his brother established an Indian village called Prophetstown. It became an intertribal settlement and was clearly a threat to further white expansion. In 1811, Tecumseh went south to recruit more tribes to his policy of not signing any treaties. He made his brother promise not to fight any battles when he was away. While he was gone, Harrison marched on Prophetstown with a force of around 1,000 militia and frontiersmen. He pitched camp near the village on Nov. 6, 1811. It was understood that he was going to negotiate with the Prophet the next day. That evening, the Indians decided to launch a preemptive attack in the morning before dawn. The Prophet performed a ritual that he promised would make the warriors invulnerable to bullets. The attack caught Harrison’s camp by surprise, but some of the men had slept with their muskets, so the camp was not swamped although the Indians did come from all sides. Some of the officers were killed, but there was no panic. The fact that the alternative to survival was scalping meant there was no choice. The battle lasted two hours, but after the opening charge did not decide it and the Indians began taking bullets after being told that would not happen, the vigor of the Indians waned. Still, more whites were killed than Indians. However, it was the Indians that withdrew and evacuated the village, which was burned by Harrison. Harrison was able to parley his victory into the Presidency using the famous campaign slogan “Tippecanoe and Tyler, Too” in the Election of 1840. Harrison ended up dying just one month after taking office.
60 or so years later, someone noticed an unusual coincidence. After the Election of 1860, Lincoln died in office. Election of 1880, Garfield was assassinated. Election of 1900. McKinley was assassinated. But wait, there’s more. 1920 election – Harding. 1940 – FDR. 1960 – JFK. In every election ending in a zero, the elected President had died in office. Starting with the man who had defeated the Prophet. So, someone came up with the theory that the mystic had put a curse on Presidents, starting with Harrison. This became known as the Prophet’s Curse, Tecumseh’s Curse, or the Zero Theory. As with most conspiracy theories, close examination popped the bubble. Why did nothing happen to Monroe after he won in 1820? Why would an Indian think of a curse that involved white men’s elections? Sorry, to be a party-pooper. Still, your students might find it interesting.
https://www.historicmysteries.com/curse-of-tippecanoe/
https://www.nps.gov/people/tenskwatawa.htm
https://www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/tenskwatawa
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenskwatawa
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Tippecanoe
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