President Madison appointed me, Thomas L. McKenney, Commissioner of Indian Affairs in 1816 but before that I was a Quaker businessman. My job was to oversee the Indians and to deal with issues involving them. I feel that Indians are very intelligent and are our equals. They need time to learn how to live in our society so that they are not out of place and can comprehend the structure of our society.

The Indian tribes are good people but they need to be civilized and to do that I asked congress to give a stipend to Indian Affairs so that the children of the tribes can be educated and the adults can further their knowledge of civilization. Among the Cherokees and Chickasaws it has become a common habit to indulge in excess drinking and I am afraid that there are some tribes that...