The United States Of America

Throughout the 19th century Native Americans were treated far less then respectful by the United States’ government. This was the time when the United States wanted to expand and grow rapidly as a land, and to achieve this goal, the Native Americans were “pushed” westward. It was a memorable and tricky time in the Natives’ history. The US government made many treatments with the Native Americans, making big changes on the Indian nation. Native Americans wanted to live peacefully with the white men, but the result of treatments and agreements was not quite peaceful. In this essay I will explain why and how the Native Americans were treated by the United States’ government, in

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

Times were a lot different back in the 1800s as compared to today, and unfortunately, for the minorities of the day, most white people did not see them as equals. The Civil War was testimony to this horrific fact. America was expanding rapidly on the heels of the gold rush and the boom of industry. This expansion posed a major problem in regards to the Native American. Most of the southern and eastern tribes had already been removed from their lands and forced to move west in the 1830s.1 Later, in 1867, a peace commission was appointed to persuade western Native Americans to relinquish their land and move to reservations. Once moved onto these reservations, the Native Americans would be wards of the government until they learned to be more like the white people.2

Cultures using hyphenated forms of “American,” such as Mexican-American, African-American, Asian-American, Native-American and many more is a step in the right direction for culture acceptance. With this positive move in the world, there could be a change in how cultures view themselves, leading to how others view them. The multicultural society has to take into account for this change because without their acceptance it would just be hate. Bharati Mukherjee in her essay “American Dreamer,” asserts, “WE MUST BE ALERT TO THE DANGERS OF AN ‘US’ vs. ‘THEM’ MENTALITY.” Although Mukherjee has a great point here, I have to disagree. I don’t feel that we have to be aware of the ‘US’ versus ‘THEM’ mentality with the change in cultural acceptance.

In the early 1800’s, The United States and Spain had continuously argued with the Native people. The Louisiana Territory was purchased from France in the year 1803, Americans continued to push farther west for fertile land that could be used for farming. Due to overcrowding of eastern cities like New York City and Boston many settlers moved out west for a new start. It allowed for colonists to spread out and own untouched fertile land. When white settlers arrived they had realized that most of the land acquired from the territory was occupied by Native Americans for thousands of years. For decades Americans had thought that the land west of the Appalachian Mountains were unoccupied, but they were wrong. There were many tribes that had occupied this land. This included tribes like, The Choctaw, Cherokee, and The Chickasaw. In a sense, Americans had violent outbreaks with the Natives the minute the colonists’ had arrived in the United State. As the colonists’ tried to establish complete dominance and superiority over the Indians, ongoing heated debates over land ownership, and demanding requests to satisfy greed made forceful attacks between the groups unavoidable.

The Indian Removal Act of 1830 moved the natives from federal territory in Georgia to non-federal territory in Oklahoma. Signed by Andrew Jackson, the act forced natives on what was known as the “Trail of Tears” where many of them died. Though, the views of Americans were changed by the Natives since the time Jamestown was settled. As the Natives importance to the Americans decreased, they became more of a nuisance. The settlers in New England were very reliant on the Natives. They were the ones who taught them to hunt and live in these new conditions. Natives were constantly put aside after the country was able to fend for themselves as seen in the American Revolution. Later on, the court case of Worcester v. Georgia gave the declaration that Natives were not technically a part of our country and they seemed to be just taking up space. Through these things, it is very clear that Natives were a problem that our country did not want to deal with.

In 1492 native Americans discovered illegal immigrants invading their country. It has been a downhill fight for natives ever since. As more settlers arrived on the East Coast, an attitude became prevalent within the European communities that it was their right to expand cities across America in the name of progress and economic development. The manifest destiny was more of a feeling rather than a written statement which lasted from the War of 1812 to the beginning of the American Civil War. The idea of expansion grew, especially by those who wanted to capitalize on agriculture in the United States. Native Americans occupied land in Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, Florida and Tennessee. These lands became more valuable to the white settlers as the production of cotton became more popular in the South. As the idea of a manifest destiny grew, so did the idea to remove Natives, which led up to the “Trail of Tears” through the Indian Removal Act of 1830, a final solution to the Indian problem. The United States government removed the five civilized Tribes, Cherokee, Muskogee, Seminole, Chickasaw and Choctaw Nations between 1830 and 1838. The Native Americans being relocated suffered from inhuman conditions such as disease and starvation while traveling to their final destination, a designated area west of the Mississippi River. The events leading to this final march into the Indian Territories and the atrocities

Subsequent to the political, social, and economical changes that occurred because of the "Manifest Destiny", the lives of the Native Americans had been changed forever. " Manifest Destiny is a term for the attitude prevalent during the 19th century period of American expansion that the United States not only could, but was destined to, stretch from coast to coast." (Manifest Destiny). This attitude encouraged the United States to begin to build settlements westward, which resulted in the removal of Native Americans. It deprived them of their land, and in some ways, their independence; they were faced with inequality and were forced to fight with the Americans. "

The result of Western settlement was devastating. The outcome of the war strongly impacted and profoundly conformed Western Expansion to a new war filled with greed and frantic need for better transportation. Gold rush, the whites antagonized a war on the Indians, knowing their chances of defeat were strong, not because they were incapable, but because they were willing to believe the false promises and would’ve rather sacrificed their land instead of causing bloodshed. Native Americans were held accountable by the law, yet they were left unprotected from the law with no legal rights. The native Americans were considered peaceful and useful towards the American White Settlers and U.S. Army until they got in the way of expansion of the Railroad system during the Homestead act, giving away land that did not belong to them in the first

Looking back at the history of the United States, there are many instances and issues concerning race and ethnicity that shape the social classes that make up the United States today. There are many stories concerning the American Indian that are filled with betrayal, but there is probably none more cruel and shameful as the removal of the Cherokee Indians in 1838. Blood thirsty for money and property, the white settlers would soon use dirty methods to drive the Cherokee out of their home- lands. The United States government played a critical role in the removal of the Cherokee. “Soon the state governments insisted on the removal of the native peoples, who were already out numbered by the white settlers and

For several years, the inhabitants of our country were taken advantage of, trade inhabitants d into slavery, victims of killings and singled out by the immigrants who sought entitlements of their territories. Before any European or Spanish authority stepped foot on American coasts, the inhabitants already had their origins rooted in the soil of what was to become the United States of America. Different from the immigrants, the occupants did not have the same approach to declaring and take control of the land. They were seekers who were watchful of the land they were occupants of and deemed themselves equivalents of any, and anything that occupied the area. They pictured the land as open for those who wanted to live there. They were also well

Despite the Native’s attempts to conform to society, they were still discriminated against, losing their land, homes, and property. As white settlers began to realize the value of the Native’s land, many began to encroach west after the Louisiana Purchase. Settler’s wished to use the land for plantations and farms. As the desire and need for more land grew, the state governments began to realize the futility of trying to contain the settlers’ attitude of Manifest Destiny and they soon joined in making laws that would limit the rights of the Native Americans. The Supreme Court attempted to stop this harsh treatment of the Natives, but were ultimately ignored as the harsh treatment continued. Southern states were determined to have the Native’s land for their own and they felt this was reinforced

This essay will examine the hostile, violent, inhumane, and unconstitutional efforts of the United States government in dealing with the American Indians during the westward expansion from 1877 to 1900s. During this time the US government attempted to contain, control and assimilate the Indians through warfare, treaties, and the reservation system.

In response to the Indian Removal Act of 1830, which expelled Native Americans from their homes, President Andrew Jackson said, “It will separate the Indians from immediate contact with settlements of whites; free them from the power of the States; enable them to pursue happiness in their own way and under their own rude institutions; will retard the process of decay, which is lessening their numbers,” (Jackson). It’s safe to say that Jackson proved to be a bad prophet. Almost two hundred years later, the “first Americans” now possess only a fraction of American land and face a litany of struggles. Of course, the demise of Native American culture and influence didn’t happen suddenly, but was a result of hundreds of years of oppression. Though European colonialism was a factor in Native American genocide, a critical analysis of specific American policies in the 19th century is crucial to understand how we got where we are today. Ultimately, a series of government actions that encouraged American settlement of the west created a snowball effect that drove American Indians to near extinction. The settlement of the American west had serious harmful implications on Native Americans through forced migration westward, theft of Indian land, and a series of wars with white settlers.

The Native Americans (Indians) found themselves pushed from their homelands and trapped into treaty after treaty with the American government. “The 1851 For Laramie Treaty [stated] the chiefs of the Plains tribes agreed to accept definite tribal borders and allow white immigrants to travel on their trails unmolested” (Tindall 804). Although it’s fair to say that when these treaties were signed both parties intended to abide by them; however greed always seems to get the best of society. The desire to expand westward would result in the dismissal of the treaties causing fights between settlers and Indians. The “Great Sioux War” is a prime example of just how ruthless things got for Indians during the westward expansion. The war lasted one year and three months across 4 (present day) states (Tindall 805). Ultimately, a lack of understanding of how settlers fought their wars would result in Indians losing the war and being subjected to reservations. Once there they were usually stripped of their traditions, culture and basic way of life. They were then forced to adapt to an “Anglo-Saxon” way of life. This meant anything from wearing the same clothes as settlers, to learning to read and write English instead of their native tongues. Once the Indians had reached a reservation they themselves were “conquered” right along with the