The Constitution Of New Zealand

While the Revolution benefited a select group of people, not all who resided on American soil gained the privileges that were associated with independence. To Native Americans, the colonists’ independence from England meant a loss of freedom. Because of the Revolution, Indians had to fight to keep both their freedom and their land. After the war, newly freed Americans felt that they were entitled to Indian land. Americans saw the Revolution as an opportunity to "complete the process of dispossessing Indians of their rich lands." (Foner, 230&231) Indians could not enjoy the freedoms that were granted to white males after the Revolution. They were not able to work, participate in politics, or freely practice their religion. Although the Revolution was a significant blow to the Native Americans, it wouldn’t be the last event that would alter their ways of life. From the end of the American Revolution to 1865, Native Americans would continue to be forced off their lands and be forced to give up their old ways of life and assimilate to American culture. After the American Revolution, rules had to be established for the settlement of the national domain. This domain included the western boundaries of the current states and stretched to the Mississippi River. This region was inhabited by some 100,000 Indians. In the aftermath of the Revolution, Congress decided that, by aiding the British during the war, the Indians had “forfeited the right to their lands.” In addition, “little distinction was made among the tribes that had sided with the enemy, those that had aided the patriots, and those in the interior that had played no part in the war at all.” At peace conferences at Fort Stanwix, Americans demanded and were granted Indian land north of the Ohio River. Treaties made with the Cherokee, Choctaw, and Chickasaw tribes in the South were similar to those made at the peace