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How the US treated Native Americans unfairly
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The Sioux, a tribe of Native Americans, have faced religious oppression for centuries, thus hindering their ability to achieve the American Dream. The American Dream should be accessible to all people, but this group of people continues to fight against religious discrimination every day of their lives. When the Englishmen started settling in America, the more harsh and frequent their oppression became. Indian tribes are separated from society by placing them in Indian Reserves to prevent the spreading of their religious beliefs. Judge John Marshall after careful consideration came to the conclusion that all tribes are separate nations, but our society continues to discriminate against their presence on the continent that was theirs first. The oppression of all Natives dates back to Columbus’ arrival in 1492, where Columbus immediately took control of the people by enslaving them. Columbus’ mission was to spread Christianity throughout the world, but unfortunately Columbus did not go about this in a loving manner (as he is called to do.) Instead of teaching them, he used force; and if the natives did not convert, they were murdered (Bill Delaney). More than three hundred years later, after America had become a country, the natives were still being discriminated against. When Jackson became president, he signed the Indian Removal act of 1830 which made forced indians east of the Appalachian mountains, where they would not disrupt any of the white men (Cherokee nation). Jackson was only procrastinating when he pushed the indians further west, they were to be dealt with a different time. A time when Jackson did not have to handle them. President Ulysses S. Grant created the first Indian reservation to make peace between the nativ... ... middle of paper ... ...Transcription." Archives.gov. National Archives, n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2014. . Delaney, Bill. "Columbus Day, A Tribute to a Racist Killer." Oppression.org. Oppression, 9 Oct. 2000. Web. 29 Mar. 2014. . "Fundamental Principles of Tribal Sovereignty." Americanindianpolicycenter.org. American Indian Policy Center, 1 Nov. 2005. Web. 29 Mar. 2014. . "Indian Reservations." Indians.org. Indians, n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2014. . Laycock, Douglas. "Peyote, Wine, and the First Amendment." Religion-online.org. Religion-Online, n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2014. .
Throughout Jackson's two terms as President, Jackson used his power unjustly. As a man from the Frontier State of Tennessee and a leader in the Indian wars, Jackson loathed the Native Americans. Keeping with consistency, Jackson found a way to use his power incorrectly to eliminate the Native Americans. In May 1830, President Andrew Jackson signed into law the Indian Removal Act. This act required all tribes east of the Mississippi River to leave their lands and travel to reservations in the Oklahoma Territory on the Great Plains. This was done because of the pressure of white settlers who wanted to take over the lands on which the Indians had lived. The white settlers were already emigrating to the Union, or America. The East Coast was burdened with new settlers and becoming vastly populated. President Andrew Jackson and the government had to find a way to move people to the West to make room. In 1830, a new state law said that the Cherokees would be under the jurisdiction of state rather than federal law. This meant that the Indians now had little, if any, protection against the white settlers that desired their land. However, when the Cherokees brought their case to the Supreme Court, they were told that they could not sue on the basis that they were not a foreign nation. In 1832, though, on appeal, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Cherokees were a "domestic dependent nation," and therefore, eligible to receive federal protection against the state. However, Jackson essentially overruled the decision. By this, Jackson implied that he had more power than anyone else did and he could enforce the bill himself. This is yet another way in which Jackson abused his presidential power in order to produce a favorable result that complied with his own beliefs. The Indian Removal Act forced all Indians tribes be moved west of the Mississippi River. The Choctaw was the first tribe to leave from the southeast.
Under the Jackson Administration, the changes made shaped national Indian policy. Morally, Andrew Jackson dismissed prior ideas that natives would gradually assimilate into white culture, and believed that removing Indians from their homes was the best answer for both the natives and Americans. Politically, before Jackson treaties were in place that protected natives until he changed those policies, and broke those treaties, violating the United States Constitution. Under Jackson’s changes, the United States effectively gained an enormous amount of land. The removal of the Indians west of the Mississippi River in the 1830’s changed the national policy in place when Jackson became President as evidenced by the moral, political, constitutional, and practical concerns of the National Indian Policy.
Andrew Jackson signed the indian removal act in 1830. This act allowed him to make treaties with the natives and steal their lands. The Trail of Tears was a forced relocation of more than 15,000 cherokee Indians. The white men/people gave the natives 2 options: 1. Leave or 2. Stay and Assimilate (learn our culture). The natives couldn’t have their own government. There were 5 civilized tribes including the cherokees. They learned english and went to american schools and when the cherokees went to court they won.
For several hundred years people have sought answers to the Indian problems, who are the Indians, and what rights do they have? These questions may seem simple, but the answers themselves present a difficult number of further questions and answers. State and Federal governments have tried to provide some order with a number of laws and policies, sometimes resulting in state and federal conflicts. The Federal Government's attempt to deal with Indian tribes can be easily understood by following the history of Federal Indian Policy. Indians all over the United States fought policies which threatened to destroy their familial bonds and traditions. The Passamaquoddy Indian Tribe of Maine, resisted no less than these other tribes, however, thereby also suffering a hostile anti-Indian environment from the Federal Government and their own State, Maine. But because the Passamaquoddy Tribe was located in such a remote area, they escaped many federal Indian policies.
The generalization that, “The decision of the Jackson administration to remove the Cherokee Indians to lands west of the Mississippi River in the 1830s was more a reformulation of the national policy that had been in effect since the 1790s than a change in that policy,” is valid. Ever since the American people arrived at the New World they have continually driven the Native Americans out of their native lands. Many people wanted to contribute to this removal of the Cherokees and their society. Knox proposed a “civilization” of the Indians. President Monroe continued Knox’s plan by developing ways to rid of the Indians, claiming it would be beneficial to all. Andrew Jackson ultimately fulfilled the plan. First of all, the map [Document A] indicates the relationship between time, land, and policies, which affected the Indians. The Indian Tribes have been forced to give up their land as early as the 1720s. Between the years of 1721 and 1785, the Colonial and Confederation treaties forced the Indians to give up huge portions of their land. During Washington's, Monroe's, and Jefferson's administration, more and more Indian land was being commandeered by the colonists. The Washington administration signed the Treaty of Holston and other supplements between the time periods of 1791 until 1798 that made the Native Americans give up more of their homeland land. The administrations during the 1790's to the 1830's had gradually acquired more and more land from the Cherokee Indians. Jackson followed that precedent by the acquisition of more Cherokee lands. In later years, those speaking on behalf of the United States government believed that teaching the Indians how to live a more civilized life would only benefit them. Rather than only thinking of benefiting the Indians, we were also trying to benefit ourselves. We were looking to acquire the Indians’ land. In a letter to George Washington, Knox says we should first is to destroy the Indians with an army, and the second is to make peace with them. The Indian Trade and Intercourse Act of 1793 began to put Knox’s plan into effect. The federal government’s promise of supplying the Indians with animals, agricultural tool...
In May 1830, Congress passed the Indian Removal Act which forced Native American tribes to move west. Some Indians left swiftly, while others were forced to to leave by the United States Army. Some were even taken away in chains. Andrew Jackson, the seventh president of the United States, strongly reinforced this act. In the Second State of the Union Address, Jackson advocated his Indian Policy. There was controversy as to whether the removal of the Native Americans was justified under the administration of President Andrew Jackson. In my personal opinion, as a Native American, the removal of the tribes was not in any way justified.
When Jackson pondered what decision was considered right or wrong, he thought about the effects and what would happen. One of the reason he decided it was better for a bigger group of people was because the Indian Removal Act provided protection from the angry, white citizens. Jackson enforced the Indian Removal Act as means of a paternalistic view. Jackson viewed the Indians as young children who need direction and management. Sadly, some Americans perceived this to excuse their indescribable disrespect towards the natives. “Throughout 1836 and into 1837, whites robbed and beat Cherokees almost every day.”(Dwyer year, 36). Because of most Americans view on the impossibility to manifest the whole continent, when a chance surfaced, their mindset would not be altered. Therefore, the removal of Indians would keep them from the destructions of whites. Jackson and his supporters wanted western land and settlement, therefore they would do whatever it meant to get it. Another thing Jackson realized when given all the options on the Indians was his own reputation and thoughts. Andrew Jackson’s ideas about the Indians established from his life on the frontier, his expansionist visions, his commitment to states ' rights, and his intense nationalism. Jackson wanted to please the citizens, especially after gaining their support and winning the election by a landslide popular vote win. Even if this act sent the natives from their homes and from hundreds of years of tradition and generations, Jackson held his allegiance to the American people. Nearly 60,000 Native Americans were involuntary migrated and although that is an enormous number to represent people, that was not near of the United States citizen population of close to 13,000,000. Another reason Jackson may have put the act into place was The Indians would not fit into white society
This case displays an example of the prejudices of the Supreme Court against the indigenous Americans during 1978. Tribal courts previously were able to try non-Indians for offenses committed on tribal land. Oliphant v. Suquamish Indian Tribe (1990) underwent three appeals; the Supreme Court case ruled against the Suquamish Tribe and called for further action.
The removal of Native Americans started when Andrew Jackson was elected President. Jackson was the candidate of a Democratic Party, which was good because he was elected at a time when national politics were becoming more democratic. Historians now refer to this trend as the Jacksonian democracy. Jacksonian democracy inforced serious limitations on Native Americans, who were not considered citizens, and women could not vote in any state. This was only the beginning of Native Americans being treated poorly.
In 1830, President Andrew Jackson passed the Indian Removal Act. This let him negotiate with the Native Americans for their lands. Although the si...
From the first settlement of colonist in America, the relationship between Native Americans and white Americans has ranged from respectable friends to sworn enemies. Until the Indian Removal Act, Americans were in competition with the Indians for American soil from the first day they arrived. Settlers saw Indians as barbaric savages and that view did not change much as time passed. Americans recognized these tribes as separate nations who were entitled to the land they acquired, this land could only be obtained by creating a treaty. But more often than not, treaties would be broken by Americans after a few years. When America gained its independence from Britain, the pressures of expansion grew. Andrew Jackson was president at the height of this growing need for land. Andrew Jackson was a rugged man, a gambler, he never missed a fight and whatever he said was true no matter what. Jackson was known for being a populist, a people’s man. The Indians were settled on fertile land that white Americans wanted, by removing the Indians Jackson created a way win more votes and gain more territory for growing cotton. His main concern was not protecting the Indian culture; it was to protect his presidency and get more
In 1830, President Andrew Jackson decided to try and get Congress to pass the “Indian Removal Act.” However, it wasn’t a very fair act. Even though this act allowed more free land and resources, it violated many people’s rights. Andrew Jackson didn’t care what the Cherokees thought, he still thought he was right about everything. This was very cruel of him to do. It’s like he didn’t ever care about the people.
In 1787, the United States Constitution was established and within this document is a list of different amendments. Ever since the 1790’s, the First Amendment of the Constitution has assured Americans the right to “free exercise of religion”. However, the promise of American Indian religious freedom has historically fallen short. The religious freedom for Native Americans has been actively suppressed because their practices and beliefs are often viewed to be unconventional classifications of “religion”. Because of this, the Native traditions are not protected under the First Amendment. Undeniably though, this does not come as a shock because constitutional protection has only recently become applied to Native Americans when they were granted citizenship in the 1924 Indian Citizenship Act.
In 1830, the President of the United States Andrew Jackson issued an order for the removal of the Native Americans, which passed through both houses of Congress. “When Andrew Jackson became president (1829–1837), he decided to build a systematic approach to Indian removal on the basis of these legal precedents.” (William. Pg 5). It gave the president power to negotiate removal treaties with Indian tribes living east of the Mississippi. Under these treaties, the Indians were to give up their lands east of the Mississippi in exchange for lands to the west. “Thomas Jefferson was the original instigator of the idea of removing a...
Kasum, Eric. "Columbus Day? True Legacy: Cruelty and Slavery." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 11 Oct. 2010. Web. 2 Mar. 2014.