ABSTRACT
Since Hunter's primary desire was to promote the fraternity of mankind—especially of Indians and whites—his response had to be enthusiastic to this line of discussion. But his sense of the depth of Jefferson's commitment to fraternity and peace would have been shaken had Jefferson let him see a copy of this letter to Monroe. No doubt Jefferson and Hunter talked in particular about Native Americans and found large areas of agreement. Despite Jefferson's spurts of genuine sympathy for the Indians and for Hunter and their other supporters, he had no doubts about who the people-"the folk" -were: They were white and not black or red. As a "plan," its most notable characteristic was the same yawning vagueness that had characterized the African colonization schemes of Jefferson and Monroe. One of the curiosities of American scholarship has been the failure of historians to explore the connections between Monroe's Doctrines on foreign policy and on the Indians.
