Native American Expansion

European colonialism shaped the way that the Americas grown as nations and the effects of their rule are still visible in their systems till now. The European countries brought with them their own tried and preferred economic ideas and theories as well as the political systems and beliefs. The countries under their rule could not escape the short term or the long term impact of this new data. The intervention brought with them different products and trade materials that were new and important for the local states that were colonized. This opened the minds of the American people to new wants and needs and they final had the chance to enjoy variety.

Before the Spanish ship that changed it all, which arrived in the “New World” in 1492, there was a vast population of native people who had lived on this land for centuries prior. That ship, skippered by Christopher Columbus, raised arguably one of the most influential turning points in Native American and European history. It sparked the fire of cultural diffusion in the New World which profoundly impacted the Native American peoples and the European settlers.

Native Americans were primarily affected by westward expansion in the sense that it was the reason they not only lost their land, but they lost their culture and rights. The words of Santana, Chief of the Kiowas, are a perfect description for this, “These soldiers cut down my timber; they kill my buffalo...”.

Throughout the course of history there have been numerous accounts regarding Native American and European interaction. From first contact to Indian removal, the interaction was somewhat of a roller coaster ride, leading from times of peace to mini wars and rebellions staged by the Native American tribes. The first part of this essay will briefly discuss the pre-Columbian Indian civilizations in North America and provide simple awareness of their cultures, while the second part of this essay will explore all major Native American contact leading up to, and through, the American Revolution while emphasizing the impact of Spanish, French, and English explorers and colonies on Native American culture and vice versa. The third, and final, part of this essay will explore Native American interaction after the American Revolution with emphasis on westward expansion and the Jacksonian Era leading into Indian removal. Furthermore, this essay will attempt to provide insight into aspects of Native American/European interaction that are often ignored such as: gender relations between European men and Native American women, slavery and captivity of native peoples, trade between Native Americans and European colonists, and the effects of religion on Native American tribes.

America’s westward expansion really affected the lives of the Native Americans in several ways. Since Americans were wanting land for farming, ranching, and mining, it took away the Native Americans land for hunting and gathering. In general, this dramatically changed the face of American history.

Native Americans were affected negatively in the United States Western Expansion. The Americans stripped the Natives from their culture, land, and the buffalo. From all that Native Americans onced lived all over the West were now living on reservations. The Natives suffered at the Sand Creek massacre, which killed over 200 Native Americans. Also another battle that affected the Native Americans negatively was the Battle of Little Bighorn. The battle was over the Sioux’s right to Sioux land with Sitting Bull as the Sioux war chief and spiritual leader and George A. Cluster as the commander of U.S troops. It wasn’t just land that affected the Natives it was also their culture. Natives boys had their culture stripped away. There clothes,

Many prominent historians argue a clash between culture and religious philosophy was the primary cause of conflict between European settlers in North America and Native Americans. However, a closer analysis of American history suggests otherwise. While a clash in cultures and religious differences did exist, the European domination of Native Americans was primarily fueled by European economic motivations, a desire for valuable natural resources and a craving to expand the American colonial system. Due to this, the conflict was inevitable.

The Native Americans began to be stripped of their customs and even forbidden to speak their native languages (All About history.org 2002). Children were taken from their tribes and sent to schools to civilize them forcing the children to abandon their heritage. Eventually U.S. government forced the Native Americans to live on ‘reservations’ were the majority of Native Americans still reside today. Thousands of Native Americans suffered with this relocation there was five tribes total “Cherokee, Creek, Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Seminole and a few others (Bryan, 2007). Theses Native Americans were promised the Indian Land where they would be free from any settlers and able to live free on Indian land. Many consider these Native Americans are as very resilient people.

The purchase of Louisiana doubled the United States in size and was the key to the beginning of westward expansion. This expansion of the U.S. served as one of the defining topics of American history but contrarily, it nearly demolished the entire democracy. Because of Louisiana’s high birth rate and rapid immigration, the United States’ population increased from about five million to more than twenty-three million people. Such expeditious growth as well as economic depressions drove millions of Americans to the west in search of fresh territory and opportunities also known as manifest destiny. At the start of the 1830’s almost one hundred twenty-five thousand Native Americans lived on southeast acres that their ancestors had inhabited for generations. But then President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian removal act which gave the government the authority to trade native held land for land to the west that the United States had obtained with the purchase of Louisiana. By the closing of the decade, only a few Natives were left because the Federal government mandated that they abandon their homeland and go to designated Indian territory. This expedition was better known as the Trail of Tears. The purpose of these reservations was to bring the Native Americans under United States government control, eliminate conflict between the Indians and settlers, and finally to further encourage Native Americans to take on the habits of settlers. In exchange tribes usually received money but it was never a lot and the majority were spent on purchasing food and supplies from traders. But the daily living conditions of the reservations primarily had the most catastrophic results with devastating and long lasting effects. Overall, the rapid territorial expansionism resulted in relocation and brutal mistreatment of Native American occupants of territories now occupied by the United

How the Indian removal act of 1830 impacted the Native American community is from the death’s of many Native American Indians . In Document 4 by a private who served in the Cherokee removal act states “Four-thousand silent graves reaching from the foothills of the Smoky Mountains to what is known as Indian Territory in the West.” Also in The Trail of Tears map it states “ traveling from 200-1250 miles.” Both of these pieces of evidence show how the relocation of the indians was a painful journey especially with not having enough rations and the cold weather plus counting the distance and the deaths in all.

The movement of people that has resulted in the settlement of America is one of the most fascinating and significant topics in the history of the United States. Nowhere else has an area of equal size been settled as a result of the initiative of small groups and individuals. Westward expansion helped stimulate the American economy.

this eventually had more immigrants coming into the states during the 19th century but ,most of them were Europeans came here to have their own land.It also added vast resources to the United States in potential agricultural and production .It started the construction of the Railroad, and added new states to the country and It also made divide between north and south, and accelerated the onset of the Civil War. the westward expansion helped the people also It made American society richer and in doing so Getting access to more land and more resources helped to make the country richer.It helped to promote the idea that the US wanted to be a great power in the world . Expansion was based on taking land from natives and spanish who were underclass . This eventually helped promote the idea that Americans were better than others and deserved more power. It is said to have helped create a more democratic culture and By going out west, people became more self-reliant because they had to face hardships on their own instead of relying on people to solve them themselves some people don't like it to be there. the more land that they got and expanded made it to where they need more people in that area to be and more money it cost to civilize it and the more land they are taking away from

The appearance of Europeans in the Western Hemisphere created a major change in the Native Americans’ lives. We know this because, “As historian James Merrel has described, the invaders created a “new world” for Native Americans…” (2). We can tell that their lives had changed because before they came, they didn’t have to worry about giving their land away or other people taking it. The invasion caused the Native Americans to suffer a lot because they couldn’t live like how they did before the Europeans came. They had to try their best to

When the colonists decided to travel to the New World, they were looking for the New World to better their lives. They came to gain knowledge of the world; which eventually they did from the Native Americans, and their own experiences. They were hoping for better opportunities within their colonies such as learning to manage money, to hunt and fish, and build homes for themselves; many did not know how to do these things before their travel. In the New World, they were also able to gain freedom, something they didn’t have in England. Eventually, they learned many new traits during their travels to the New World, which took them three months.

In the 1500’s, America was a new found place for the Europeans. When the Europeans got to America, They found some Native American’s, which they found had a very different life style then they did. They saw that the Americans were unchanging, missing they were set in their ways and uncivil. The Europeans saw that the Native American’s culture was structure very different from their own. At this time Americans and the Europeans did not understand each other.