Why Did We Acquire Indian Land In The 1800s

Despite that, the United States government told the Indians that they would not invade their lands. They soon heard that the Indians had fertile land and decided to allow settlers to move west. “After hearing tales of fertile land and a great mineral wealth in the West, the government soon broke their promises established in the Treaty of Fort Laramie by allowing thousands of non-Indians to flood into the area.”. (Victoriana) To make more land available to the settlers the government had to make reservations that would separate the Indians from the whites. In exchange for the Indians moving to

“The Indians had owned the land,” Houston argued, “so the government by virtue of conquest could sell it.” (HOUSTON, P.111). Congress had to go along with this bill for political reasons. The bill when passed acknowledged the Indians’ legal title to their Texas land and at the same time prevented speculators from snapping up the land for white expansion. The bill passed unanimously. Unfortunately Houston’s revenge for the Cherokees was short-lived as Congress repealed the bill the next year.

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

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.

Later on in 1854, the Ojibwe also requested that the United States establish reservations and fulfill the needs of the future Ojibwe. The direct result of the requests was the establishment of four reservations in Wisconsin (68). In return for supplying these demands, the United States asked for the North Shore of Lake Superior and the island of La Point (Bell, PowerPoint, 12/20/2014). It wasn 't all bad for the Ojibwe. More often than not, the United States had compensated the Ojibwe with money, weapons, and supplies in place of the land they gave up. Other times, the United States had forced the Indians to listen to their demands through the use of military force (Bell, PowerPoint, 12/10/2015).

The Indian Nations lost nearly half their land due to the Reconstruction treaties of 1866, which required the land lost to be used for resettlement of more Indian tribes. Indian populations within Indian Territory did not change much from 1865 to 1900, but the non- Indian populations soon outnumbered the Indian populations six to one (Baird and Goble, p 126). Lane – Pomeroy Plan pushed by the Kansas representatives, James Lane and Samuel Pomeroy, to pressure the Federal government to remove more Indians to Indian Territory (Baird and Goble, p 131). The Homesteading movement increased pressure to relocate Indians to Indian Territory to open up more lands in surrounding states for settlement. Upwards to 15,000 Indians were relocated to Indian Territory during the Second Trail of Tears (Baird and Goble, p 131). The increased diversity between Indian tribes and the growing non-Indian population created a tension for Indians to maintain control of Indian Territory, which grew worse as the territory edged closer to statehood.

The European settlers thirsted for more land and aggressively took over the land Native Americans had been cultivating for years; therefore, causing the Indians to feel betrayed. “The United States took a more realistic approach when it passed the Northwest Ordinance in 1787, recognizing that tribes did have rights to their lands, and that U.S. purchase of tribal lands must be done through formal treaties. Ratification of the federal constitution in 1789 further streamlined Indian affairs by investing the new central government--rather than the states--with all treaty-making powers” (Relations Between Indians and U.S. Citizens). The colonists created the Northwest Ordinance in 1787 in order to seem proper in regards to stealing Ohio from

They were bent on acquiring the valuable lands occupied by the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee (Creek), and Seminole Indians. After the Louisiana purchase (an enormous acquisition of land west of the Mississippi in 1803), President Jefferson presumed that these Indians could be persuaded to give up their homes in exchange for land further west. Following Jefferson's lead, President Andrew Jackson pushed for the passage of the Indian Removal Act of 1830. The act provided funds for the United States government to negotiate removal treaties with the Indians. The federal government forced tribal leaders to sign these treaties. Factions arose within the tribes, as many opposed giving up their land. Cherokee Principal Chief John Ross even traveled to Washington to negotiate alternatives to removal and pleaded for the government to redress the injustices of these treaties. The United States government listened, but did not deviate from its policy. Although President Jackson negotiated the removal treaties, President Martin Van Buren enforced them. The impact of the removal was first felt by the

Jackson had been fighting Native Americans for their land before he became a president. In 1788, Jackson and several white settlers tried to force the Cherokee Indians off their homeland in Georgia.2 The Cherokees fought to keep their land from white settlers and they even brought their case to the Supreme Court. Under the Constitution, the United States government must negotiate with the tribe leaders before seizing their land. Many political figures tried to bribe, threaten, or use military force to make tribe leaders sign the treaty so they would leave, however some of them would not budge so easily. Some political

The Constitution provides clear Native American protection from governmental land confiscation in Article VI, Section 2. The relevant section states, "…All Treaties made; or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land"(Farber [9]). The United States signed 371 treaties with Indian tribes between 1790 and 1870 (Churchill, Struggle for the Land 20). Treaties were made for a variety of purposes, such as "mutual protection, peace, in support and regulation of trade with the Indians, to provide for military posts, [and] to wrest land from the Natives"

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,

The Indian Removal Act, inspired by Andrew Jackson; the 7th president of the US and the enhanced ambition for American settlers to find more land in the southwestern regions of North America. The Indian Removal Act enabled Jackson the power of negotiating removal treaties with Indian tribes east of the Mississippi. Among these tribes were: Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaws and Seminoles. Very few authenticated traits were signed. The Choctaws were the only tribe to agree without any issues. All other attempts resulted in War and blood shed for both white settlers and Indians. The conflict with the U.S. and Indians lasted up until 1837. In 1838 & 1839 Jackson forced the relocation of the remaining Cherokee Indians;

What would you do if you were offered millions of dollars for your land? Yes that right, the Indian tribes were moved out thanks to the Indian removal act of 1830. These Indian tribes were living in Louisiana. After the war of 1812 ended, the U.S. had purchased Louisiana from France. After exploring the land they chose to kick the Indian tribes forcefully because for the things they accomplished in the past. That’s what lead to the Indian removal act of 1830. The Indian removal act of 1830 was not justified because the Indians claimed their land first, the U.S. treated the Indians poorly, and it overall helped out the government.

In 1795 this Treaty was signed. Leaders of the Miamis and other Native Americans nations sighed this saying that they would give up land (Ohio). They traded this land for $20,000 and the promise of more money if they kept the peace.

This train of thought was dead set on expanding and conquering the lands that they thought rightfully belonged to the Union. This caused tensions between Native American groups who had been on that land for much longer in addition to being there first. Tecumseh argues to General William Henry Harrison that, “this land that was sold, and the goods that was given for it, was only done by a few,” (Tecumseh’s Speech). The Native Americans believed that land was given to all peoples and was meant to be shared, but some tribes have taken it upon themselves to sell the land to the Americans in exchange for petty goods.