The American ideal of “Manifest Destiny” towards the Ohio country created; altercations among native tribes living on their ancestral lands and the colonial people in search for the new found acreage, a defeat for the United States, and terrible consequences for the Native Americans in colonial path. The small battle (St. Clair’s Defeat), “only involving a few thousand people and lasted less than three hours,” was a tremendous triumph the Native Americans had, on any account, and correspondingly the most detrimental military catastrophe the United States had endured. The United states did not believe the Indians had the intellectual power to be “fielding a multinational army, executing a carefully coordinated battle plan worked out by their The US government already took the land even though they lost St. Clair’s battle. Most westerners had already settled in Indian lands and looked for assistance from the federal government to defeat or remove the Native tribes. Many sought to the new land as a new economic beginning for agriculture. Although the Indian victory was a diplomatic achievement by holding together an alliance between various Indian tribes for the critical time, Natives couldn’t do anything about the expansion of the colonials. “American victory in Indian wars in the Ohio country seems inevitable” The annihilation of St. Claire’s army confirmed settlers fears and so they escalated the burden on congress to institute its power in the West. The Indian victory was temporary, but losing the war meant they also lost the life’s in a way. Their ancestral lands were what signified their being. “Three years later the federal government and its new army responded the prayers of Westerners by defeating the Indians and taking title to most of Ohio.” The called upon a treaty among the settlers and the Native Americans was evident. The chief signed the treaty to “wisely bury the hatchet forever” Many Indians suspected Americans of poisoning their leaders. The Indian confederacy that had collapsed St. Claire’s army conclusively tattered into bitter discontent and blame. Although the rivalry had concluded, “the federal
To many of the English colonists, any land that was granted to them in a charter by the English Crown was theirs’, with no consideration for the natives that had already owned the land. This belittlement of Indians caused great problems for the English later on, for the natives did not care about what the Crown granted the colonists for it was not theirs’ to grant in the first place. The theory of European superiority over the Native Americans caused for any differences in the way the cultures interacted, as well as amazing social unrest between the two cultures.
In the 1830’s America was highly influenced by the Manifest Destiny Ideal. Manifest Destiny was the motivating force behind the rapid expansion of America into the West. This ideal was highly sponsored by posters, newspapers, and various other methods of communication. Propaganda was and is still an incredibly common way to spread an idea to the masses. Though Manifest Destiny was not an official government policy, it led to the passing of the Homestead Act. The Homestead Act gave applicants freehold titles of undeveloped land outside of the original thirteen colonies. It encouraged Westward colonization and territorial acquisition. The Homestead Act was signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln in 1862. To America, Manifest Destiny was the idea that America was destined to expand across the North American continent, from the Atlantic, to the Pacific Ocean. Throughout this time Native Americans were seen as obstacles because they occupied land that the United States needed to conquer to continue with their Manifest Destiny Ideal. Many wars were fought between the A...
The “Utmost Good Faith” clause from the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 however, stated, “The utmost good faith shall always be observed toward the Indians; their land and property shall not be taken from them without their consent; and in their property, rights, and liberty, they shall never be invaded or disturbed.” (Document 9). However, a letter from three Seneca Indian leaders to George Washington, President of the United States, argued, “When your army entered the country of Six (Iroquois) Nations, we called you the town destroyer; to this day, when your name is heard, our women look behind them and turn pale, and our children cling to the necks of their mothers…” (Document 10). This, in fact, proves the American Revolution was not revolutionary because the Indians were promised the “Utmost Good Faith” and that their land and property would never be invaded or disturbed, but their towns were left completely devastated and halted society from changing into a better
The War of 1812 was a war between Britain and the United States fought primarily in Upper Canada. It had many causes, few which involved British North America. The results of the war include the fact that there was no clear winner or loser among them. The only real losers in the situation were the Natives in the region. They were driven out of their lands and customs. None of the borders was changed by the war, though many attempts were made. The Treaty of Ghent, which ended the war, did nothing to advance the state of the countries. It went so far as to end the war and put things back the way that they were, but the main causes of the conflict were not addressed or dealt with. In order to evaluate the significance of this war, Canadian victories and losses, as well as overall results, must be analyzed.
Manifest Destiny is a phrase used to express the belief that the United States had a mission to expand its borders, thereby spreading its form of democracy and freedom. Originally a political catchphrase of the nineteenth-century, Manifest Destiny eventually became a standard historical term, often used as a synonym for the territorial expansion of the United States across North America towards the Pacific Ocean. The United States government believed that the Native Americans were a problem that was hindering Manifest Destiny from being fulfilled (or at the very least, used the idea of Manifest Destiny to gain land and resources the Indians possessed), and would do everything in their power to exterminate the “Indian Problem.” The U.S. government, along with the majority of the U.S. population, eradicated this problem through lies, forced removal, and murder. This eradication nearly wiped out a race of people, whose only crime was mere existence in a land they had lived on, respected, and cherished for hundreds of years. The U.S. government had three main ways of solving the “Indian Problem”. They would remove them, kill them, or segregate them from the “civilized” white man by placing the Indian on reservations. The Indians soon learned that the U.S. government could not be trusted, and fought fiercely against the harsh injustices that were being administered. Tragically, the Indians would eventually have their spirits broken, living out their meager existence in the terrible homes called reservations.
Set in the middle of the Chickamauga Wars between 1776 and 1794 in which the Native American Tribes attempted to halt the expansion of American settlers into their territories, the Battle of Wabash took place in the fall of 1791. Just two years after the ratification of the United States Constitution in 1788, there were challenges the United States faced. The challenges were taking place in the area of the Old Northwest Territory. This territory was occupied by the Western Confederacy, comprised of the Native American Tribes; Ottowa, Ojibwe, Pottawatomi, Miami, Shawnee, Delewares, Wyandot, Mingo and Cherokee. The vital goal of the Native Tribes was to stop the westward expansion of the American settlers. After the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1786 ending the American War of Independence where the United States gained the territories where the Indians occupied. The natives in this territory, however, did not recognize this treaty and were greatly opposed to the incoming ...
One of the critical tasks that faced the new nation of the United States was establishing a healthy relationship with the Native Americans (Indians). “The most serious obstacle to peaceful relations between the United States and the Indians was the steady encroachment of white settlers on the Indian lands. The Continental Congress, following [George] Washington’s suggestion, issued a proclamation prohibiting unauthorized settlement or purchase of Indian land.” (Prucha, 3) Many of the Indian tribes had entered into treaties with the French and British and still posed a military threat to the new nation.
For the Indians of the Ohio Valley, the third major party in the French and Indian War, the British victory was disastrous. Those tribes that had allied themselves with the French had earned the enmity of the victorious English. The Iroquois Confederacy, which had allied themselves with Britain, fared only slightly better. The alliance quickly unraveled and the Confederacy began to crumble from within. The Iroquois continued to contest the English for control of the Ohio Valley for another fifty years; but they were never again in a position to deal with their white rivals on terms of military or political equality.
One of the largest and most wealthy countries in the world, the United States of America, has gone through many changes in its long history. From winning its independence from Great Britain to present day, America has changed dramatically and continues to change. A term first coined in the 1840s, "Manifest Destiny" helped push America into the next century and make the country part of what it is today. The ideas behind Manifest Destiny played an important role in the development of the United States by allowing the territorial expansion of the 1800s. Without the expansion of the era, America would not have most of the western part of the country it does now.
Although the Americans faced unbeatable odds, it was the belief in the “manifest destiny,” that became their driving force to win an impossible war. The “manifest destiny” was a vision of some American citizens that the territory including California, New Mexico, Utah, Texas, Arizona, and Nevada belonged to the United States. Using this belief gave courage and determination to each soldier to win this war for America and their families. In doing so, their sacrifices would not only improve the wealth and land rights of the United States, but also create more future opportunities for
Not many know about Dragging Canoe and the battle he fought during the American Revolutionary War. The Native American’s role in the Revolutionary War was very important, but not well known. As a result, the Revolutionary War can come across as one-sided. Dragging Canoe fought for the Native American’s existence in the colonies. First, he was strongly opposed to Henderson’s Purchase or also called the Transylvania Purchase. Secondly, Dragging Canoe’s raid at “Battle of the Bluffs” became an issue for the colonists. And lastly, there was negotiating done between the British and Colonists would somehow effect Dragging Canoe, his warriors, and the future for the Native Americans.
The movement westward during the late 1800’s created new tensions among already strained relations with current Native American inhabitants. Their lands, which were guaranteed to them via treaty with the United States, were now beginning to be intruded upon by the massive influx of people migrating from the east. This intrusion was not taken too kindly, as Native American lands had already been significantly reduced due to previous westward conquest. Growing resentment for the federal government’s Reservation movement could be felt among the native population. One Kiowa chief’s thoughts on this matter summarize the general feeling of the native populace. “All the land south of the Arkansas belongs to the Kiowas and Comanches, and I don’t want to give away any of it” (Edwards, 203). His words, “I don’t want to give away any of it”, seemed to a mantra among the Native Americans, and this thought would resound among them as the mounting tensions reached breaking point.
Destiney was an expression used to spread the idea than it was America 's "destiny" to
In Thomas King’s novel, The Inconvenient Indian, the story of North America’s history is discussed from his original viewpoint and perspective. In his first chapter, “Forgetting Columbus,” he voices his opinion about how he feel towards the way white people have told America’s history and portraying it as an adventurous tale of triumph, strength and freedom. King hunts down the evidence needed to reveal more facts on the controversial relationship between the whites and natives and how it has affected the culture of Americans. Mainly untangling the confusion between the idea of Native Americans being savages and whites constantly reigning in glory. He exposes the truth about how Native Americans were treated and how their actual stories were
In the article review “ How the West was Lost” the author, William T. Hagan explains that in a brief thirty-eight year period between 1848 and 1886, the Indians of the Western United States lost their fight with the United States to keep their lands. While nothing in the article tells us who Hagan is, or when the article was written, his central theme of the article is to inform us of how the Indians lost their lands to the white settlers. I found three main ideas in the article that I feel that Hagan was trying to get across to us. Hagan put these events geographically and chronologically in order first by Plains Indians, then by the Western Indians.