From Deep Wood To Civilization by Charles Alexander Eastman

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Recommended: American slavery in the 1800s

The nineteenth century brands a notable progression in the United States’ history. Not until then would the Republic stretch out to cover most of the North American continent, from the Atlantic ocean in the east to the Pacific in the west. There were several significant milestones that led to the development and expansion of the United States, yet betrayal and slavery were the common factors.
The United States, in the early 1800’s, was located in New England, the northeastern part of the contemporary United States. The Americans, then, sought to spread the American settlers and values throughout the entire continent of North America, starting with the neighboring Indian county. “[They] pretended to buy the land … but never paid the price,” said Charles Alexander Eastman, the author of From Deep Wood To Civilization regarding the Americans’ purchase of his tribe’s land, currently known as the states of Minnesota and Iowa (Eastman 2).
Similarly, in 1851, the Indians relinquished one more tremendous territory in exchange with an annual payment, furnished schools, and other promises, yet the government, again, did not keep its word (86). The simple lifestyle and humanitarian creed of the indigenous taught them to trust other fellow humans, regardless of color, religion and ethnicity. Therefore, when the Americans told them that they would pay ten cents per acre, or they would bring civilization to the savage Indians, the indigenous immediately agreed. However, this betrayal resulted in distrust and aversion toward the ‘white man,’ which, consequently, led to many wars, such as the “Minnesota massacre,” whose casualties were mostly Indians, and those who survived, including the author, were exiled.
Having been stung by the Americans’ b...

... middle of paper ...

...uld result in fraud and loss. Dr. Eastman’s proposal was of a genuine civilized man whose aim is welfare and justice; it is not of savageness as the Americans prejudiced.
It is true that the nineteenth century for the United States was the “age of progress;” yet betraying others because of their lack of knowledge and stealing their properties, and exploiting those in need and enslaving them for personal gains are tokens of backwardness. It is reassuring, though, to see that for the time being the people of the United States of America have equal rights and acceptance of other races and ethnicities. This is civilization, not that of the nineteenth century.

Works Cited

Eastman, Charles Alexander. From The Deep Woods To Civilization. New York: Courier Dover Publications, 2012. Print.
Robinson, Harriet Hanson. "The Lowell Mill Girls Go on Strike, 1836." (1898). Web.

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