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Native Americans and European colonization
American indian manifest destiny
Native Americans and European colonization
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During the 1800's the Native Americans kept the peace while the Americans were self-serving in their pursuit of land. The Americans believe in the Manifest Destiny. The Native Americans did all that they could to remain in peace with the Americans. The Americans fought persistently with the Native Americans to gain Native American lands. The Americans wanted to move the Native Americans of what they thought was land given to them by God. The Americans believed they had the power to control all of the U.S., because they were given the right to by God. They also believed that the Native Americans knew about the Manifest Destiny, and that they should move off of the 'American' lands. The Americans thought that the Native Americans leaving their lands was, “a touching sight,”(Brown 31), that the Native Americans had realized that leaving their pasts behind was their destiny. The Americans believed that Native Americans felt obligated to move off of the land because of the Manifest Destiny. They believed that the Native Americans were happy to leave. The Americans also thought that by moving the Native Americans to reservations that they were helping the Native Americans. The reservations, the Americans thought would “free them from the power of the states,”(Jackson 133) and force the Native Americans to move to leave their 'savage' ways behind. They thought that by forcing the Native Americans to assimilate to the Americans that they Native Americans would be “a happy and prosperous people,”(Jackson133) instead of the savages the Americans believed them to be. The Americans believed that because the Native Americans had realized that it was there destiny to give up their lands that the Native Americans were going to ... ... middle of paper ... ...,”(Jackson 134) so that all of the lands could be theirs. The Americans were only concerned with taking all of the land from the natives so that they could expand the United States and keep all minerals with in the new lands. In the 1800's the Native Americans kept the peace while the Americans were selfish in their crusade for land. The Americans thought that according to the Manifest destiny they were the sole rulers of the Native American's lands. Although the Americans wanted their lands, the Native Americans wanted to remain in peace with the Americans. The Americans continuously fought with Bernier4 the Native Americans even when the Native Americans had done no harm. The Americans were uncaring in gaining Native American lands. The Americans were the savages in their pursuit of the Native American's land.
The land of the Native Indians had been encroached upon by American settlers. By the
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...
Unfortunately, this great relationship that was built between the natives and the colonists of mutual respect and gain was coming to a screeching halt. In the start of the 1830s, the United States government began to realize it’s newfound strength and stability. It was decided that the nation had new and growing needs and aspirations, one of these being the idea of “Manifest Destiny”. Its continuous growth in population began to require much more resources and ultimately, land. The government started off as simply bargaining and persuading the Indian tribes to push west from their homeland. The Indians began to disagree and peacefully object and fight back. The United States government then felt they had no other option but to use force. In Indian Removal Act was signed by Andrew Jackson on May 18, 1830. This ultimately resulted in the relocation of the Eastern tribes out west, even as far as to the edge of the Great Plains. A copy of this act is laid out for you in the book, Th...
The removal of the Native Americans was an egocentric move on Jackson’s part. Jackson was only able to see how our removal would benefit the government but was not concerned at all about our values and culture. “It puts an end to all possible danger of collision between the authorities of the general and state governments on account of the Indians” (91). This statement, included in the State of the Union Address, exhibits how Jackson was quick to place blame on the Indians. He was basically saying that if there were any disputes between the general and state governments, it would be because of the Indian’s choice to not leave the land. Jackson was attempting to hold the Indians accountable for a matter that they had no say in. It is evident that Jackson could have are less about the Indian’s home land, where we were birthed and raised our kids. It is clear that the sentimental value of the land did not concern Jackson at all. Jackson felt that he offered us an equitable exchange, but his family was not the one being forcefully removed from their birthland to go to an unfamiliar land. “What good m...
The clash between the Native Americans and the colonists did not start off tumultuous. In the early days of the exploration and settlement of the New World they lived in peace. The Indians taught them how to farm and live off the land. In a strange land the colonists made an ally. However, the subsequent turn of events was inevitable. Perhaps the chaos that ensued could have been postponed but there was never going to be a peaceful cohabitation between the colonists and the indigenous people. There were so many vast differences between the religious views and ultimate goals of the two groups. The Native Americans had established trade relationships with various tribes, they had their own religions, and their way of life was a stark contrast to that of the colonists. The worldview of the respective peoples was foreign to the other and the idea of a holistic and unbiased approach to the life of others was foreign.
First of all, they would not agree with the ownership of land section, as Native Americans believed that land could not belong to individuals in the first place. The African Americans in the Declaration of Wrongs and Rights also say “as natives of American soil” when in reality, the true natives of the land were the Native Americans. Also, the document continues to talk about how African Americans claim the right to remain in said lands. Native Americans were moved from their native lands several times. The Homestead Act in 1862 could be seen as an example, new settlers were encouraged to take “free soil” but at the same time move over Native American settlers. Another example of this can be seen with the Osage who already lived on a reserve, they had already been removed and deported. Railroad companies wanted to use their land and were willing to pay for it. Then another railroad company saw the same opportunity and tried to convince them to move. The Osage refused to move and then the government intervened with the 1870’s removal law, which moved the Osage and sold their land for 1.25 dollars an acre. Eventually the situation got better for the Osage since there was oil in their new lands. Another example of this would be the concentration attempts of the Lakota. It nevertheless made sense to the authors since African
The American settlers wanted Indian land for many reasons. These reasons include geography and terrain, location, resources, and old grudges. First, the geography was perfect for farmers with its fertile land. Next, the location was perfect for trade. It was close to the Mississippi river where trading ports were located. Third, there were many resources such as gold, fertile soul, and water. Finally, the American settlers had old grudges with the Native Americans due to the fact that they sided with the British during the Revolutionary War and slaughtered many American colonists. Due to many reasons, the American settlers wanted Indian land for their own gain.
The American Indians were promised change with the American Indian policy, but as time went on no change was seen. “Indian reform” was easy to promise, but it was not an easy promise to keep as many white people were threatened by Indians being given these rights. The Indian people wanted freedom and it was not being given to them. Arthur C. Parker even went as far as to indict the government for its actions. He brought the charges of: robbing a race of men of their intellectual life, of social organization, of native freedom, of economic independence, of moral standards and racial ideals, of his good name, and of definite civic status (Hoxie 97). These are essentially what the American peoples did to the natives, their whole lives and way of life was taken away,
America was expanding at such a rapid pace that those who were in America before us had no time to anticipate what was happening. This change in lifestyle affected not only Americans, but everyone who lived in the land. Changing traditions, the get rich quick idea and other things were the leading causes of westward expansion. But whatever happened to those who were caught in the middle, those who were here before us? One of those many who roamed the land before Americans decided that they owned it were the Native Americans.
Towards the development of the United States of America there has always been a question of the placement of the Native Americans in society. Throughout time, the Natives have been treated differently like an individual nation granted free by the U.S. as equal U.S. citizens, yet not treated as equal. In 1783 when the U.S. gained their independence from Great Britain not only did they gain land from the Appalachian Mountains but conflict over the Indian policy and what their choice was to do with them and their land was in effect. All the way from the first presidents of the U.S. to later in the late 19th century the treatment of the Natives has always been changing. The Native Americans have always been treated like different beings, or savages, and have always been tricked to signing false treaties accompanying the loss of their homes and even death happened amongst tribes. In the period of the late 19th century, The U.S. government was becoming more and more unbeatable making the Natives move by force and sign false treaties. This did not account for the seizing of land the government imposed at any given time (Boxer 2009).
Beginning in the 1860s and lasting until the late 1780s, government policy towards Native Americans was aggressive and expressed zero tolerance for their presence in the West. In the last 1850s, tribal leaders and Americans were briefly able to compromise on living situations and land arrangements. Noncompliance by Americans, however, resumed conflict. The beginning of what would be called the "Indian Wars" started in Minnesota in 1862. Sioux, angered by the loss of much of their land, killed 5 white Americans. What resulted was over 1,000 deaths, of white and Native Americans. From that point on, American policy was to force Indians off of their land. American troops would force Indian tribe leaders to accept treaties taking their land from them. Protests or resistance by the Indians would result in fighting. On occasion, military troops would even lash out against peaceful Indians. Their aggression became out of control.
From the beginning of the 20th Century, there were nearly 250,000 Native Americans in the United States who accounted for approximately 0.3 percent of the population. This population was mostly residing in reservations where they executed a restricted extent of self-government. Native Americans have experienced numerous challenges related to land use and inconsistent public policies. Actually, during the 19th Century, Native Americans were dispossessed of a huge section of their land through forced removal westwards, through a series of treaties that were largely dishonored, and through military defeat by the United States in its expansion of control over the American West (Boxer par,1). Moreover, Native Americans have experienced
Native Americans lived on the land that is now called America, but when white settlers started to take over the land, many lives of Native Americans were lost. Today, many people believe that the things that have been done and are being done right now, is an honor or an insult to the Natives. The choices that were made and being made were an insult to the Native Americans that live and used to live on this land, by being insulted by land policies, boardings schools and modern issues, all in which contain mistreatment of the Natives. The power that the settlers and the people who governed them had, overcame the power of the Natives so the settlers took advantage and changed the Natives way of life to the
Native Americans in the Civil War provided different outlooks on war and helped each side with numbers. They were determined to make peace with the new colonists in order to help them in the future. They were hoping they could become great trading partners so both may benefit from sharing land. They knew their land would no longer be theirs as the country continued to grow. In order for them to have a chance in the future, they needed to help the nation and make peace with them. Though the Native Americans were in a “lose-lose” situation, they fought hard. “No other group sacrificed as much for the survival and triumph of the United States as did its Indian allies.” (Native Americans in the Civil War). It is disheartening to think the country took most of the land the Natives owned even though they aided us in Civil War. With their help, the country was able to become a better and more successful
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.