How the West Was Won Essay

The colonization of the Americas began in the year of 1492, when Christopher Columbus and his band of explorers arrived off the coast of the Bahamas. This new “discovery” for Europe would have drastic effects not only on the settlers themselves, but on the natives and their environment. It is without a doubt that the appearance of these explorers placed the Indians on a dangerous trajectory. Now, it is currently understood how the colonization of the American continent brought disease, war and ultimately death for many of the natives. Early exploration, conquest and settlement brought about new economies for the Europeans, new religious freedoms, and knowledge of the world and of exploration, producing great benefits for the colonists. Although the settlers did face risks and sometimes death during their conquest, they undoubtedly benefitted from this expansion. The Indians, however, were dealt a different hand. The culture that they had developed and the immense civilizations that had evolved were ultimately destroyed as the spread of epidemics, constant war, and brutal exploitation brought these prosperous and hospitable peoples to their knees.

The government began signing the treaties with the First Nations post-Royal Proclamation of 1763. The numbered treaties, however, came into play around the 1870s, after the buffalo population declined drastically and many bands were depopulated because of disease. During 1871-77, seven treaties were signed and four more were signed between 1899 and 1921. The treaties were negotiated orally, but when they were being documented by government negotiators many oral promises were missed. Basically, the intent was completely misunderstood. The First Nations also believed that the money they received was a gift given in exchange of sharing the land with the settlers, not for surrendering their land. They also expected the promises to last “As

The making of the treaty was a problem and a conflict for several reasons. One is that the Indians didn’t like it. They were very afraid of being moved onto a reservation. They hated being on reservations because they knew that the Americans were going to put them on the same reservation as 40 other tribes. Plus they didn’t want to move onto the same place with an enemy tribe!(Schuster 65) Neither would I. They would probably get into a fight or an all out war actually! Furthermore there were hardly any resources for one tribe, so how were they going to feed several? Especially when there were hundreds in each tribe! (Lambert, 150) Another reason the Indians didn’t like the treaty was because they couldn’t tell if the Americans were telling the truth, America had broken promises and ripped up treaties with other nations and tribes before, why not this one? Then there was the reason about not wanting to cede their land. It was theirs to keep. They had rightfully claimed that land and who were the settlers to take it? They had made that land livable and they were not about to give it up to a nation that was greedy and selfish in their eyes. Another reason why they didn’t like the treaty was that they didn’t want to give up their land. They wanted to be able to hunt and grow plants and fish, use their own herbs, use their own spices without having to beg, buy, and starve.

In 1851 the Fort Laramie Treaty was formed, over eight thousand men, women and children came together and formed an alliance. Enemies, relatives and families came together to form nearly three hundred of their soldiers. Man was beginning to intrude on the land of the Indians and the Indians knew they had to do something. Many enemies became friends, which would also help their future as tribes.

In conclusion, the time period of 1800-1850 white Americans expanded across the western side of the continent encountered conflict and different interactions with various Indian nations. Popular belief believed that that to achieve an ultimate point of rest and happiness that they should share their settlements and

Everything was going very well for the settlers in the west, except for disputes and battles with the native Indian tribes. The tribes had signed many treaties with the Americans regarding their land and their safety; however, the treaties were loosely followed and ignored for the most part. In 1868, the Lakota were having conflicts with the US Army. The Lakota were angry that the army kept coming into their territory. This led to Red Cloud's War. Congress passed the Fort

From 1778 the Unites States government attempted to resolve an already tense relationship with numerous native tribes. These treaties were between two sovereign nations and negotiated as such since almost no Indian nations held anything resembling a dictatorships, the United States took it upon themselves to appoint the chiefs with whom they deemed worthy of negotiating. The appointed leaders tended to be more agreeable to American interests rather than their specific tribe as the now found themselves on the U.S payroll. These treaties would then divide their lands and limit their necessarily resources in exchange for trade good and forgotten promises of annual payments and no further demands or regulations would be placed upon them. These formal

After the American Revolution the new United States government wanted to keep up peace with the Indians on the outskirts. Be that as it may, as pioneers kept on relocating westbound they made settlements on Indian terrains and requested and got security by the Army. Tecumseh, a Shawnee boss, sorted out a few tribes to contradict additionally surrendering of Indian terrains. Be that as it may, they were crushed in 1811 by Gen. William Henry Harrison at the skirmish of Tippecanoe.

I was also dismayed at the ruthless massacre in 1864 of over one hundred Indian men, women, and children, particularly when these people “talked of peace with the white men” (LaDuke 1999, 78). Looking back, it is indeed very easy to understand the sense of hopelessness and powerlessness the native Indians feel when they wake up every day with the knowledge that the fight is not yet

In 1851 another Treaty was created to define territory to each tribe. This in order to end intertribal rivalry and it permitted travelers and railroad workers on the Platte River Road. Unfortunately, many Tribes never knew about the existence of the 1851 Treaty and therefore, continued their intertribal fights. The US government regarded this as an infringement of the treaty, however, and government could not compel its own countrymen to respect the treaty either. Travelers continuously passed through defined Indian territories and ignored the Treaty (North Dakota Studies, 2017). In 1868 the Fort Laramie Treaty was signed, in order to define the relationship that existed between the US government and the tribe, but by the time, the US government used treaties as a way to extinguish indigenous rights to ancestral homelands. And so when Sioux Treaty lands were overrun with gold seekers, the US simply sought to modify rather than honor the existing treaty (North Dakota Studies,

In 1862 the Sioux tribe who lived in Minnesota were waiting a yearly compensation from the government. They did not receive one time because the government was corrupted. So, that situation caused them to fight and attack white people who lived several villages in Minnesota. In August 18 1862 the Sioux warriors killed allot of people who were business men, they stole goods, burned buildings and they took hostages including women’s and children.

The Pueblo leader Azekah declared war on the navajo tribe. The conflict was a hard one to end.

The basic summary of events that went down in Native American history started first when the British sailed and first reached American lands in 1492. Even though the settler’s hadn’t started unlawfully stolen any land yet and banished the natives, the natives were still affected greatly by the new and unfamiliar

Next in the harsh situation a treaty was created by White settlers. In 1850 some Oregon and California settlers saw a chance for farming and ranching on the Great Plains.In

In the year 1874-75, a battle broke out between the U.S and four Indian tribes. The other people involved for instance... "the U.S. Army who during the battle was lead by General Philip Sheridan" (Cruse). The U.S Army wanted to put the four tribes on reservations, however... "Isa-tai and Comanche chief Quanah Parker lead 250 warriors to attack buffalo hunters in Texas" (Marshall). After that attack the U.S Army came in, so they could force the tribe in reservations, but