Mary Merchant

Miss Hunter

Honors American Literature

22 September 2022

Written Response: A Call to Indian Unity

Academic Summary

In the speech, A Call to Indian Unity , Tecumseh discusses the white men and how they

repeatedly show a sense of uncivilness to the Indians. In order for the Indians to obtain the

respect they want, they have to unite. Coming together as one/ uniting will help and only make

the Indians more strong. Tecumseh strives to demonstrate this for the Indians. This forces the

audience to be intrigued and more involved in the story. The whites are strong already taking a

lot from the Native Americans thus far. The Whites already have a lot of power of the Natives, so

uniting would then limit this power. Tecumseh frequently talks about how without each other

they are easy targets. The whites are not easy targets and won't be.

Personal Response

In Tecumseh's speech “A Call to Indian Unity” he shows so much of belief in the Indians.

I would then want to unite and regain power by connecting. Tecumseh makes me motivated to

want to win and to always want more. I am constantly reminded of how the Indians would be so

powerful if they united. The power Tecumseh talks about/ mentions makes me want to fight ever

harder for what the Indians deserve. The Indains need to see and recognize with Unity basically

anything is possible. It's really important to me when it comes back to power. The white keeps

taking everything away from the Indians. I like to gain back power if I can when it's lost. The
Indians need to do the same . Tecumseh made a great speech in order to motivate the Indians to

unite and fight for what they deserve.

Literary Analysis

In Tecumseh's speech “A Call to Indian Unity” he repeatedly uses a simile. The simile he

uses is poisonous servants. Not only is this a simile but also a use of connotation. The

connotative word is “serpents”. This compares the whites to serpents because like the whites and

how when warm they gain more power and strength. Serpents are cold-blooded which means

when cold the more weak they are. Without the Indians the whites would not have food or any of

the necessities they would need to succeed. After how good the Indians were and everything

they did for the whites, they turned on the Indians. The whites then decided to start killing and

rebelling against the Indians. This took away everything from the Indians. I feel this not only

motivates but also brings a sense of hope to Indians. These are the whites' weaknesses so they

should take advantage.

Creative Response

In Tecumseh's speech “ A call to Indian Unity” he tries to persuade the Indians to unite

and fight which is actually what I wanna do but since I’m a girl I can't. My name is Idla, I am a

ten year old girl who desperately wants to fight. I would do anything and everything to help. This

tribe means everything to me. I just have one simple question. Why can’t I fight? Just because I

am little does not mean I can’t fight. My dream is to fight right next to Tecumseh. I personally

think when we unite we can win. I believe in us. I think that making peace and building a better

relationship with them will only result in good things. Us uniting will also have a good outcome.
We would finally be free and have our rights back that we deserve. I still think I should be able to

help even though I’m little , I am still very mighty and I have power. Even though I might not be

strong, maybe some encouraging words will help! I would say “ In order to win, we need to unite

and come together. I support you guys and you need to support each other. I promise everything

will piece itself together once we unit. Yes, we may have our weaknesses but so do they. We

need to take advantage.” I really think that would help and maybe that would set forth good

ideas. So all I ask is for you to please give me one chance.

Work Cited

Tecumseh “ A Call to Indian Unity. ” Great Speeches by Native Americans, edited by Bob

Bliesdell , Dover, 2000, p. 27