"Through its focus on the Doctrine of Discovery, Miller's book offers fascinating new insights into Jefferson's Indian policy, the significance of the Lewis & Clark expedition, and the origins of Manifest Destiny ideology in 19th- century America. Miller forces readers to confront the raw assertion of colonial power embodied in the Doctrine of Discovery, and its consistent deployment by the United States in the guise of law." -- Carole Goldberg, Professor, University of California, Los Angeles, Law School, co-author of American Indian Law: Native Nations and the Federal System "Written by lawyer and law professor Robert Miller, this is revisionist history in the very best sense of that tradition. Miller reviews historic documents and oft-told stories in a new and original light. This important study gives Native Americans and their role in United States history a richer and deeper meaning through Miller's thoughtful interpretation of the Doctrine of Discovery in the context of its historical, law-related, political principles." -- Rennard Strickland, Knight Professor of Law, University of Oregon "Miller's book represents the most comprehensive and thoughtful analysis of the American version of the Doctrine of Discovery to date, its role in the voyages of Lewis & Clark, and its continuing importance in the field of federal Indian Law today." -- Alexander Tallchief Skibine, Professor, University of Utah Law School "Professor Miller's treatment of the Doctrine of Discovery shows us that we still have much to learn about how we came to legitimize our jurisdiction over this continent. He illustrates the dense interlacing of law, ideology, and politics at work in the making of the New World. Everyone who is interested in Indian Law and the West will have to read this book." -- Gerald Torres, Bryant Smith Chair, University of Texas Law School

Manifest Destiny, as a term for westward expansion, was not used until the 1840s. Its predecessor was the Doctrine of Discovery, a legal tradition by which Europeans and Americans laid legal claim to the land of the indigenous people that they discovered. In the United States, the British colonists who had recently become Americans were competing with the English, French, and Spanish for control of lands west of the Mississippi. Who would be the discoverers of the Indians and their lands, the United States or the European countries? We know the answer, of course, but in this book, Miller explains for the first time exactly how the United States achieved victory, not only on the ground, but also in the developing legal thought of the day.

The American effort began with Thomas Jefferson's authorization of the Lewis & Clark Expedition, which set out in 1803 to lay claim to the West. Lewis and Clark had several charges, among them the discovery of a Northwest Passage—a land route across the continent—in order to establish an American fur trade with China. In addition, the Corps of Northwestern Discovery, as the expedition was called, cataloged new plant and animal life, and performed detailed ethnographic research on the Indians they encountered. This fascinating book lays out how that ethnographic research became the legal basis for Indian removal practices implemented decades later, explaining how the Doctrine of Discovery became part of American law, as it still is today.