Ann Marie Plane

The Massachusetts Indian Enfranchisement Act: Ethnic Contest in Historical Context, 1849-1869

The AA. examine the granting of citizenship and voting rights to Indians in Massachusetts as a case of inter-ethnic negotiation much more complicated than the rubric of Indian-white policy suggests. They first examine the ways in which outside events altered state policy, despite strong continuities in ethnic boundaries. They explore the complex definition of ethnic identity by residents within Indian enclave communities, and the different understanding of this identity among various groups of white outsiders. These varying definitions confirm and elaborate social science theories of boundary maintenance and ethnic identity.