A reform-minded modernizer, Calhoun attempted to institute centralization and efficiency in the Indian Department and in the Army by establishing new coastal and frontier fortifications and building military roads, but Congress either failed to respond to his reforms or responded with hostility. Calhoun's frustration with congressional inaction, political rivalries, and ideological differences spurred him to create the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 1824. Thomas McKenney was appointed as its first head.
A reform-minded modernizer, Calhoun attempted to institute centralization an,d efficiency in the Indian Department and in the Army by establishing new coastal and frontier fortifications and building military roads, but Congress ,either failed to respond to his reforms or ?responded with hostility. Calhoun's frustration with congressional inaction, political rivalries, an?d ideological differences spurred him to create the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 1824. Thomas McKenney was appointed as its first head.