American Indians Essay Research Paper American IndiansThroughout

American Indians Essay, Research Paper American Indians Throughout the history of the United States, American Indians have be treated ill. Ever since the white work forces crossed the Atlantic ocean 200 old ages ago till the mid 1900 s, the hapless intervention and violent death of Indians neer ceased. US Policies passed between the Revolutionary War and the mid 1900 s hurt American Indians and set them at an utmost disadvantage. Before the Revolutionary War, the first intimation that the relationship between the American Indians and the white people would be rocky was when the British ordered the Proclamation of 1763. It prohibited any white colonists to settle West of the Appalachian Mountains because of legion struggles with the American Indians. After the Revolutionary War, the construct of Manifest Destiny, to spread out the state to the Pacific Ocean and perchance Canada and Mexico, motivated many Americans to look beyond their districts. After the Revolutionary War, they successfully gained all the land E of the Appalachian Mountains, from the St. Lawrence River to the 31st analogue. When the United States signed the Treaty of Versailles in 1783, it gave them the Great Lakes and Mississippi. The United States were able to spread out even more after they were able to press the Native Americans to give up their lands in the Northwest District in 1784 and 1785. In 1802, all the provinces had given up their districts to the federal authorities as portion of the new Constitution. Most significantly, when North Carolina gave up its districts, it stopped doing payments that were guaranteed to the Indians in earlier pacts. The United States were to pay off the debt, but they failed to make so. A big part to the enlargement of the United States was acquired through the Louisiana Purchase from France in 1803. Then in 1819, Florida was purchased from the Spaniards. Texas freed itself from Mexico in 1845, became an independent province, and joined the United States. Last, in 1848 the last major land the United States obtained was Californ ia and New Mexico from the Mexican Cession. On the seventy-fifth birthday of the state, the United States had fulfilled its Manifest Destiny and its boundary lines crossed the full North American Continent ( Jones, Pg. 9-12 ) . The problem for the American Indian began here. With all the new land acquired, many white Americans headed to the West and mid-west to settle. During these colonies, the Indians got in the manner. The colonists were taking their land off from them and the white colonists killed the Indians to acquire rid of their jobs easy. In the heads of many white Americans, the best manner to work out the job with Indians interfering was to kill off them. The first major conflict that erupted between the Indians and the Americans over land ownership and Indian intervention from the Americans occurred during the War of 1812. In 1813, the Indians along with their Alliess the British, fought the Americans at the Battle of the Thames River. Here Tecumseh died. Tecumseh was the leader of the Shawnee Tribe who besides led and united many Indian folks to drive the Americans off of their land. After he died, the Indians lost an of import leader and hence lost their sense of way and stopped contending fo r awhile. In 1828, Andrew Jackson, the war hero who defeated the Creeks and British became the new President of the United States. Andrew Jackson was considered a frontier adult male. The Americans on the frontier looked up to him and expected him to hold a no-nonsense policy toward the Indians ( Jones, Pg. 19 ) . The Cherokee Indians were the first Indians to be a victim of the Jackson policy. At the clip, the Cherokees were the most comfortable Indian state. The white colonists in the country began to bust the Cherokees. The federal authorities did nil about this. But when the Cherokees retaliated against the white colonists, the Cherokees were tried and punished badly. Finally, the Cherokees got fed up and appealed to the federal authorities and worked ferociously to maintain the pact duties that required the United States federal authorities to protect the Cherokees and their lands. But the federal authorities said that the white colonists who took their land were excessively legion to be moved and therefore were unable to assist the Indians. So alternatively of following the pact with the Cherokees, the federal authorities under the Jackson disposal took land off from them. The Cherokees brought their instance to the Supreme Court to seek justness. Rather, the United States Senate ratified the Treaty of New Echota and President Jackson signed the pact into jurisprudence leting the authorities to take all Cherokees from their land ( Satz Pg. 20 ) . This determination by President Jackson was the first in a series of monolithic Indian remotion ( Gilbert Pg.23 ) . Finally, the Cherokees were forced to fly to Indian Land, besides known as Oklahoma. After the successful remotion of the Cherokees, the federal authorities decided to take the Choctaws, Creeks, and Chickasaws to Oklahoma every bit good. The Indians were harassed by the Whites and suffered from diseases while going to Oklahoma on the trail known as the Trails of Tears ( Gilbert Pg. 27,28 ) . In 1832, US troop s chased the Sauk state across the Mississippi River. They killed at least 200 Sauks. As a consequence of this inhumane act, the federal authorities gave the staying Sauks their ain land in Iowa. Most of the remotions made by the United States authorities were conducted without believing about the comfort or wellness of the Indians. Most of the clip, they were conducted with ferociousness ( Jones, Pg. 23 ) . The Indians were forced to walk 100s of stat mis because the authorities did non supply them with good transit. Besides, the United States authorities promised lodging, nutrient, farm supplies, and farm animal to get down them out at their new locations, but they turned out to be false promised and hopes for the Indians. In most instances, the Indians were normally dropped off in the wilderness and left there to last on hardly nil. Other times when they reached their new locations, before they knew it, they were being removed to another location. This procedure was repeated over and over until the Westward Movement. The Westward Movement caused even more problems for American Indians. The Westward Movement began after gold was found in California. Many colonists and gold diggers traveled to the West for many different grounds. The authorities prepared to seek and forestall any struggle and confrontation between the Whites and the Indians before it happened by directing the US Army to modulate. They built garrisons and forts for this ground. Army functionaries were sent west to do understandings and pacts with the Indians. Besides, their occupation was to do certain that the pacts and understanding were non to be violated by both parties. From 1778-1871, the federal authorities made 389 pacts with the Indian states. The conditions of the pacts were that if the United States were to take any of the Indians billion estates of land, so the authorities would pay for the land and give them one-year rentes and supplies. Besides, the Indians would ever hold land for themselves. These lands would be free from revenue enhancement. Unfortunately, the pacts were frequently broken. Settlers ignored the pacts and invaded and settled on Indian district guaranteed under the pact. The Fort Laramie Treaty, which was signed in 1868 is an illustration of a broken pact ( Utley Pg.61,86 ) . The Indians were given sole rights to the sacred land of the Black Hills. Then in 1874, when gold was discovered at that place, the white gold diggers and mineworkers ignored the pact and invaded the Indian district. When these colonists invaded their land and the authorities did non make anything about it, the Indians took action and attacked the colonists. The victim of these Indian foraies felt that the authorities should be protecting them from the Indians, because they felt they had non done anything incorrect. Again, the authorities did non make anything. So this clip the colonists retaliated against the Indians by themselves. Besides killing guiltless Indians and occupying their land, the white colonists showed no regard for the land. They destroyed the grass and tree, about killed all the game for pleasance that the Indians depended on for endurance. By 1871, tenseness a nd struggle between the Indians and the colonists grew even stronger. The white people wanted the authorities to give them entree to Indian land while the Indians wanted the authorities to maintain their word, follow the pact, and protect their lands. In order to run into the demands of the white people, the federal authorities decided to hold a new policy. The policy was to hold no more pacts with the Indians. They were no longer be considered as independent states. Hostile Indians were to be captured by the US ground forces and set in Indian reserves. If they resisted to travel to a reserve they were considered hostile. To do it easier to direct all the Indians to the reserves, the authorities urged white huntsmans and sportswomans to kill off the American bisons. This was the most of import game that the Indians depended on to populate. Between 1872 and 1874, white huntsmans and sportswomans killed about four million American bisons, go forthing about 150,000 ( Brash Pgs. 62, 66,67 ) . Reservation life was awful for the Indians. Most of the Indian reserve were wasteland. They were inhabitable. Indians were frequently expected to farm on these barren, which was rather impossible. Indian Reservations became crowded as more and more American indians were being pushed and moved off their ain land. Another job was that the Indians were frequently sent to reserves that were non suited for them. For illustration, the Navajos, Indians who live in the hot desert, were sent to a reserve across the state to Florida. And the Sioux Indians, Indians who lived in the cool fields, were sent to reserves in the desert of New Mexico. The hapless and crowded conditions on the reserves caused lifelessly diseases to distribute and caused 1000s of deceases on the reserves. Many of the Indians became fed up with reserve life, and left. Many folks formed impermanent confederations with each other to salvage themselves. They were successful at the Battle of Bighorn in 1876 where they defeated General George Custer. Even though they were winning, this merely angered the white people even more. Armies were doubled as a consequence of this. As they lost conflicts, they found it more hard to contend on ( Billard Pg. 338-339 ) . Every clip they were defeated, all their properties would be destroyed. They would hold been lucky to populate. In 1890, Chief Sitting Bull and his 300 guiltless staying Indians were massacred by the US Army in South Dakota. As a consequence of this, many Indian folks gave up hope and surrendered. At the beginning of the twentieth, there were about 250,000 Indians in the United States. The Bureau of Indian Affairs was formed under the Department of War. The duty of the agency was to see that the best involvement of the Indians were served and to make up ones mind what those involvements were. But the Bureau was made up of white males. They were frequently bias towards the Indians. This hurt the Indian civilization and future coevalss because now the end of the agency and federal authorities was to educate all Indians and do them bury their old ways and traditions. Slowly, they were seeking to wipe out the Indian traditions and civilization off. The new coevalss of Indians were taken off to get oning school. They were non allowed to talk their native linguistic communication. They were forced to pattern Christianity. They were told that their Indian heritage were non approved by American society ( Billard Pg. 341-384 ) . As of today, Indians still live on reserves. They do non hold to pay revenue enhancements. The American Indians today are good treated. They are considered Americans today and have equal rights merely as any other ethic groups in the United States. Although the American Indians are treated every bit today, they were non treated every bit for the past 200 old ages. The white work forces came across the sea and invaded their land. All they could make was ticker and seek to contend back, but that did non work for them. The future coevalss were greatly affected by this because the sad events did non let them to hold every bit many chances and easiness to larn about their roots and tradition.