Historian Lew Wallace wrote that, “William Henry Harrison was clothed with power more nearly imperial than any ever exercised by one man in the Republic. He was authorized to adopt and publish such laws, civil and criminal, as were best adapted to the condition of the Territory; he could arbitrarily create townships and counties, and appoint civil officers, and militia officers under the grade of general. Most extraordinary of all, however, to him belonged the confirmation of an important class of land grants. In this regard his authority was absolute.”

In the Introduction, the Director of the Indiana Historical Commission wrote that, “In the Messages and Papers of Indiana Governors is to be found much of the material that is fundamentally essential to a proper understanding of Indiana history. In fact, the real background for the early history of the Old Northwest Territory is found in the messages, proclamations and letters penned by William Henry Harrison during the years 1800 to 1816.”