Ohio Valley Film Analysis

During westward expansion, the Native Americans got kicked to the side. The settlers coming west often saw the Indians as a threat to them and their families. However, this was not the main reason the Indians were pushed aside. The settlers saw the Indians had fertile land and wanted it for themselves. The Indians were the opposite of what the settlers thought they were. The Indians often helped the people moving west across the plains; giving them food, supplies, and acting as guides. However, the U.S. Government did not see this side of the Indians, instead they forced the Indians onto reservations. During the time of the expansion of the United States to the present, the Native Americans went through many things so that the United States could expand; they were pushed onto reservations, and forced to give up their culture through the Ideas of Manifest Destiny and Social Darwinism.

Another cause for poor relations between Native Americans and European Settlers was the constant push for acquiring new land by the Colonists. The Native Americans did not just want to give up their land and this resulted in war between the Indians and the Colonists. During this time Native Americans were sold into slavery belittled and removed from their land, due to the fact that the Colonists had more advanced technology and weapons. One of the major wars was the French and Indian War which resulted in the removal of Native Americans from their land and many casualties on both sides. Over time many battles were fought over land, even after America was an established country with presidents, laws, and court systems. Native Americans were continually pushed out of their land for hundreds of years while they were forced to move west. The constant push of Native Americans out of their land would cause an event known as the Trail of Tears where thousands of Indians were removed from their land by the Indian Removal Act. “In 1830 the Congress of the United States passed the "Indian Removal Act." Although many Americans were against the act, most notably Tennessee Congressman Davy Crockett, it passed anyway. President Jackson quickly signed the bill into law. The Cherokees attempted to fight removal legally by challenging the removal laws in the Supreme Court and by establishing an

Tecumseh believed that all the Native tribes ought to unite as it would give them a better chance of fighting against the invaders. At this time, the Euro-Americans had settled in different parts of the country and they were slowly encroaching into Native territories, hence they posed a threat to their way of life and the peace that existed. Tecumseh had influential reach over the native tribes owing to his position, and he believed that it was important for the native tribes to fight for what was theirs. He urged native tribes across the country to be aware of the negative influence that came with the Westerners and he also pointed out that they used violence to take control over land whenever they needed to. In his appeal, he encouraged

Political leaders of the United States wanted Indians to adopt white ways, which they considered to be civilized. In 1811 many frontiers men were using different orthodox methods in ceding land from the Indians, some of the methods were bribing and tricking. Tecumseh a Shawnee tribal chief oppressed the United States and started an Indians resistance. He felt that the white men were taking land their land, women and causing problems everywhere they went. Tecumseh wanted to preserve the Indian way of life by combing tribes to band together against the Unites States. Tecumseh was able to gather thousands of Indians in his fight to rid whites from their lands. Tecumseh led many attacks on the Americans. He also used the voice of is brother Tenskwatawa to set forth a moral movement. Tenskwatawa preached that Indians must give up the white lifestyle which includes liquor and their clothing. He also preached that selling lands to the whites need to stop; land should be open and free to

In Letter from Governor Edmund Ross of New Mexico to President Grover Cleveland, Governor Edmund Ross wrote to President Grover Cleveland regarding the white residents’ reactions towards Geronimo’s escape from military custody and Ross’ attempt to further convince the government to rid and even potentially kill off some of the American Indian tribes surrounding their settlements. Despite their small number, which was a population of “less than five hundred”[ Kent McGaughy, American Perspectives: Readings in American History, Volume 2 (New York City: Pearson Education, Inc., 2015), Page 80] people, the white settlers felt uneasy about the fact that they lived in such close proximities to them. They believed that if some of the tribes (particularly, the Chiricahua and the Warm Springs bands of the Apaches group) were removed, they would feel safer. Moreover, they believed that the tribe’s removal would have a positive and tranquil impact on the settlers’ territories and industries as they believed the American Indians’ “constant war with the white race”[ McGaughy, Page 80] hindered their way of life.

Native Americans were discriminated against and forced out of their own lands because the Americans felt inferior towards them. In 1812 the British found themselves at war with the Americans and this was the Native peoples chance to once and for all defeat their white superiors. Tecumseh was a Shawnee chief but he was addressing Choctaws and Chickasaws because he is calling for Native American unity throughout the entire United States. He announces his alliance with the British who are fighting against the Americans in 1812. He urges other Native American tribes to do the same because they have a common enemy. Also, it will be harder to fight the Americans if they are a unified force instead of individual tribes all fighting the common enemy

Due to America’s expansion in the West, it made a very negative impact on the Native Americans there. For example, numerous amount of native Americans died due to the new diseases that they were being exposed to; such as influenza and smallpox. Additionally, Settlers tooks over large amounts of the Native Americans’ hunting grounds. Due to their inhabitants of the hunting grounds, it chased the animals that they would hunt. Lastly, the Native American population decreased. Seeing all this change being brought on to their land, Native Americans began to resist. America responded by attacking the Shawnee villages on the Tippecanoe River while Tecumseh was away, looking for allies. __________________________________________________________________________________

Most Americans have at least some vague understanding of the Trail of Tears, but not many know about the events that led to that tragic removal of thousands of Indians from their homeland. Indian lands were held hostage by the states and the federal government. The Indians had to agree to removal to maintain their tribe identities. Trail of Tears is an excellent example of a particular situation and will be eye opening to those who are not familiar with the story of the southern tribes and their interactions with the rapidly growing American population. The Trail of Tears has become the symbol in American history that indicates the callousness, insensitivity, and cruelty of American government toward American Indians in 1839 and 1839.

Before the Eastern World knew that the America’s were there, natives to the American lands were already here and thriving. As the land was discovered, more and more people from the European side of the Hemisphere traveled across the Atlantic Ocean to stake a claim for land in this newfound world. Throughout these Europeans settling in, and making new homes and lives for themselves these natives stayed to their own ways, and were slowly pushed westward. The problems between the Indians and now Americans were brought to the forefront as the population of the states grew, and there was a need for expansion. When the Louisiana Purchase was struck between the United States and France, the land previously inhabited by the natives were now under the control of the United States government. As the population continued to climb in numbers, individuals along with the United States government decided to take actions for the removal of these natives. Throughout the book, The Long, Bitter Trail, Andrew Jackson and the Indians by: Anthony F.C. Wallace, the events leading up to, during, and the effects of the Indian Removal Act of 1830. Individuals such as Andrew Jackson along with the government used different methods to remove these Indians from the southeastern lands of the United States. Starting in the beginning of the 1800’s,

Tecumseh Tecumseh was a Native American and leader of the large Indian tribe called the Shawnee. When he was a young kid the people in his tribe could tell he would have a promising future. Tecumseh was very athletic, wasn’t a trouble maker, and had a great character about him. His father was killed by white men and left Tecumseh mom as a wisdom with Tecumseh and his younger brother. Having his father die at a young age, that focused Tecumseh to immature faster and become the man of the family.

Tecumseh was a Shawnee Indian chief who had been born around 1768 near Springfield, Ohio. During the early 1800s, he started to oppose the United States, and attempted to create a confederation of Indian Tribes to rebel against the United States. One of the main reasons Tecumseh opposed the United States was the fact that white people were squatting on Native American land, and was forcing his people out. Although Tecumseh opposed whites, he knew how to speak their language. Tecumseh was described as a six-foot tall man with “fine” features. He had been rumored to be fluent in English, and most surprisingly, also in French. He also managed to turn his brother’s religious teachings into political movements in order to get his fellow Native Americans to support his movement. [Collins, pg 36-40]

With the discovery of the New World came a whole lot of new problems. Native American Indians lived in peace and harmony until European explorers interrupted that bliss with the quest for money and power. The European explorers brought with them more people. These people and their descendants starting pushing the natives out of their homes, out of their land, far before the 1800s. However, in the 1800s, the driving force behind the removal of the natives intensified. Thousands of indians during this time were moved along the trail known as Nunna dual Tsung, meaning “The Trail Where They Cried” (“Cherokee Trail of Tears”). The Trail of Tears was not only unjust and unconstitutional, but it also left many indians sick, heartbroken, and dead.

The Film I have chosen to evaluate and interpret is the 1955 film: Oklahoma. The composers of the music played in Oklahoma are the very talented and famous Rodgers (Richards) and Hammerstein II (Oscar). The Film was originally a musical, performed on the Broadway stage beginning in 1943, and was then later adapted into a screenplay in 1955. Oklahoma is a true romantic story about two men, with two very different intentions, chasing the same woman. Curly is a cowboy who unquestionably sells all of his belongings; horse saddle, beloved horse and gun, just so that he can show his undying love for the main character and love interest, Laurey.

government has unspecified and unorganized policies, which were unprotected for Native Americans who lived in the west because of all the new coming Americans. During westward expansion, a majority of who moved were whites, who didn’t know the Native Americans who already lived in the west. The Natives felt their land was being conquered, because of the U.S government policies(Louisana Purchase & Homestead Act) and the whites not wanting them to be there, which lead to fighting between the Natives and the whites. These acts and policies such as the Indian Removal Act often resulted in violated treaties and violence. The Indian Removal Act was the removal of Native American homes and tribes. “This also confines the Indians to still narrower limits, destroys that game which in their normal state, and constitutes their principal means of subsistence.” Resulting in westward expansion, Native Americans began rapidly decreasing in the area by wars and new diseases caught by new coming

While speaking in front of the Osages, Tecumseh begs for the Native Americans to unify themselves against the white men as they expand westward, killing their people. He states that if they do not come together, they stand no chance against the colonists, his words being: “Brothers - If you do not unite with us, they will first destroy us; they wish to make us enemies, that they may sweep over and desolate our hunting grounds, like devastating winds, or rushing waters.” This would have been very alarming to me if I were a Native American listening to the speech being given, knowing that my people and I were in actual danger of such heinous things as murder or even genocide.