The Redskins

In Short

Hugh Littlepage and his Uncle Roger return to New York in 1845 after five years in Europe, only to find their country estate, Ravensnest, engulfed by the Anti-Rent War. Disguising themselves as a German pedlar and a music-grinder, they infiltrate their own tenant community to uncover who is instigating the unrest. Local agitators, dressed in pseudo-Native costumes as "Injins," intimidate the gentry and manipulate the political system to default on long-standing land leases. Cooper wrote this final entry in his Littlepage Manuscripts trilogy to defend contract law and property rights against agrarian populism and political opportunism.

The Story

Returning home from an extended European journey, young landlord Hugh Littlepage and his Uncle Roger ("Ro") learn that the tenant farmers on their vast Hudson Valley holdings at Ravensnest are in open rebellion. Under the guise of the anti-rent movement, the tenants refuse to pay their contractual quit-rents and quarter-sales, arguing that long-term leaseholds are anti-democratic relics of feudalism.

To observe the true sentiments of the public without being recognized, Hugh and Uncle Ro adopt disguises as a pair of traveling pedlars—Uncle Ro acting as a German trinket seller named "Dafidson" and Hugh playing his hurdy-gurdy player. Travelling from Albany down through Saratoga and Mooseridge, they witness firsthand how local demagogues and political schemers, such as the local attorney Seneca Newcome, manipulate the electorate and court voters by promising to dismantle the legal titles of the landed gentry.

Upon arriving at Ravensnest, the disguised pair interact directly with their tenants, loyal servants, and the local clergy. They find faithful retainers like the aged former slave Jaaf (Yop) and the Onondaga elder Susquesus (the Trackless), who retain deep personal loyalty to the Littlepage family line. Conversely, opportunists like Seneca Newcome and his sister Opportunity scheme to intimidate the family and seize the estate. Local agitators form a secret vigilante society, disguising themselves in crude calico costumes as "Injins" to commit acts of arson and violence against anyone upholding the law.

During a local meeting, the anti-renters capture the local rector, Mr. Warren. Hugh reveals his true identity to Mr. Warren's daughter, Mary, while driving her wagon to safety, pledging to protect her and her father. Despite the rising danger, Hugh and his uncle continue to confront the agitators. The conflict reaches its peak as the disguised "Injins" attempt to burn down the Nest House, the ancestral Littlepage residence. Hugh, his uncle, and their allies manage to thwart the arson attack, aided by the moral presence and intervention of Susquesus and true Native elders, whose dignified integrity starkly contrasts with the lawless, disguised white tenants.

Ultimately, the arson attempt fails, the masked agitators are exposed, and Hugh secures his estate. Having safely defended his home and principles, Hugh wins the hand of Mary Warren, concluding the family chronicle with a firm defense of constitutional law over mob rule.

How It Unfolds

The disguise is assumed Having returned from Europe to a state embroiled in land disputes, Hugh Littlepage and his Uncle Roger decide to travel through New York disguised as a German pedlar and a hurdy-gurdy player. Their journey exposes them to the coarse accommodations of local taverns and the widespread political rhetoric directed against long-standing landlords.

Infiltrating the anti-renters Moving through Mooseridge toward Ravensnest, the duo listens to local political opportunists like Seneca Newcome celebrate the growing clout of the anti-rent faction. Hugh and his uncle observe how politicians court these law-breaking voters under the guise of expanding democratic liberty.

Revisiting the ancestral estate Upon reaching Ravensnest, the disguised pair visit their own properties, conversing with loyal old retainers like Jaaf and the Onondaga chief Susquesus. They discover that local tenants are organizing secret bands of disguised "Injins" to intimidate the gentry and resist legal rent collection.

A revelation on the road When a mob of "Injins" detains the village rector, Mr. Warren, Hugh drives Mary Warren to safety in a wagon. Along the way, he reveals his true identity as her countryman and landlord, swearing to protect her family from the surrounding unrest.

Confronting the mob at Ravensnest The tension culminates at the Nest House, where the masked anti-renters attempt to burn down the Littlepage home to break the family's hold on the land. Hugh and his small circle of loyal friends stand their ground, exposing the hypocrisy of the attackers and defending the property.

The People

• Hugh Littlepage: The youthful heir to the Ravensnest estate and narrator of the story. He wants to maintain his lawful inheritance and marry Mary Warren; he must navigate a hostile political climate to protect his family's legacy, maturing into a resolute defender of his legal rights.
• Roger "Uncle Ro" Littlepage: Hugh's sophisticated uncle and guardian. He wants to preserve the family's property and social standing, driving the plot by conceiving the German pedlar disguise to investigate the anti-rent movement firsthand.
• Seneca Newcome: A local attorney and anti-rent ringleader. He wants to strip the Littlepage family of their property for his own political and financial gain, acting as the primary antagonist by mobilizing the masked "Injins."
• Mary Warren: The virtuous daughter of the local Episcopal rector. She wants to support her father and uphold moral integrity amid community strife; her gentle courage wins Hugh's heart.
• Mr. Warren: The local clergyman. He wants to preach legal righteousness and peace, standing firm against mob intimidation despite being targeted by the anti-renters.
• Susquesus (The Trackless): An elderly Onondaga chief living on the estate. He wants to maintain his lifelong bond of honor with the Littlepages, serving as a noble moral counterweight to the lawless white tenants masquerading as Native Americans.
• Jaaf (Yop): An ancient former domestic slave loyal to the Littlepage household. He wants to preserve the traditional social order of the old estate, viewing the rising anti-renters with deep contempt.

In Its Own Voice

"The discriminating reader will probably be able to trace in these narratives the progress of those innovations on the great laws of morals which are becoming so very manifest in connection with this interest, setting at naught the plainest principles that God has transmitted to man for the government of his conduct, and all under the extraordinary pretence of favouring liberty!"

Cooper opens his preface by framing the anti-rent conflict as a dangerous decline in public morality masquerading as freedom.

"On the one side is the law, and right, and bargains, and contracts; and on the other thousands--not of dollars, but of men. Thousands of voters; d'ye understand?"

A local farmer plainly explains to the disguised uncle how raw electoral power is being weaponized against legal contracts.

"Democracy alone finds any sympathy in the ordinary administration of American justice."

Hugh reflects bitterly on the double standard of a legal system that accommodates mob intimidation while strictly penalizing the property-owning gentry.

What It's Really About

Beneath its adventure and romance, the novel is a polemical defense of contract law, private property rights, and constitutional governance against agrarian populism. Cooper argues that true liberty depends entirely on the inviolability of legal agreements, warning that when a democratic majority can vote away private contracts to enrich itself, rule of law collapses into tyranny. The narrative contrasts the disciplined honor of traditional figures—such as the true Native chief Susquesus and the old gentry—with the lawless selfishness of the masked "Injins," asserting that demagogues who pander to popular greed undermine the foundational ethics of the republic.

Why Read It Today

This book will appeal to historical fiction enthusiasts, scholars of early American society, and readers curious about the 19th-century Anti-Rent War in upstate New York. It offers a rare, fiercely argued conservative perspective from one of early America's most famous novelists, capturing the intense social friction surrounding land ownership, class, and voting power in the young republic.

Reading the novel requires patience. Cooper's prose is unhurried, heavy with extended political debates, period dialect, and explicit ideological commentary. The story frequently pauses for long conversations on property law, social customs, and European versus American manners. Modern readers will also encounter dated period attitudes, particularly in the depictions of racial minority figures and class hierarchies. Yet, what stays with the reader is Cooper's sharp, uncannily modern warning about the fragility of legal institutions when tested by organized populist agitation and political expediency.