Sample Solution

In Richard White’s novel, he describes the “Middle Ground” as two different and distinct concepts. The first of these concepts is a then French region of North America which consists of parts of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Canada, among others. The second definition was a process of mutual appeasement and accommodation between the Native American tribes of the region and the French, British, or Americans that they were negotiating with. This term refutes the myth that Europeans, from the minute they stepped foot on the American continent, had the upper hand. Richard White’s concept of the “Middle Ground” is proven correct based on the gift-giving relationship between the Indian and mainly French settlers.

One aspect of Indian and European relationships that represents the “Middle Ground” is gift-giving. These gift exchanges “lay at the heart of Indian relations with other Indians, and they became equally important in Indian relations with the Spanish, French, and English,” (Calloway, p.139). When they first came to the United States, Europeans had to learn these customs in fear of being seen as rude. These exchanges “were not conducted solely for profit but involved social, political, and even spiritual aspects as well as economic incentives,” (Calloway, p.140). It was important to maintain this relationship with the Indians because “France’s North American empire…depended on the maintaining the goodwill of an array of Indian peoples,” (Calloway, p.140).