US Government’s Relationship with Indians in 1800s

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Events before 1800
The use of treaties and laws
Resistance from the natives
Removal act
Allotment and Assimilation
Conclusion
Works Cited

Introduction

After the exit of the colonialists from the United States, the new government that was formed sought to maintain a good relationship with the native people. They believed that a close relationship with the natives was the most prudent way of achieving prosperity. Nonetheless, the white settlers still had a high appetite for the vast fertile lands that were in the territory of the native people especially the Indians. This led to some disagreements as the white settlers sought to displace the Indians. As a result, the government of U.S. came up with various schemes on how to deceive Indians that they were working for their benefit while in reality that was not the case. Laws were overlooked, treaties maliciously drafted and in some instances, laws were enacted to favour removal of Indians from their land.

Events before 1800

Immediately the new government took charge, they came up with various ways of enticing the Indians. The government wanted the Indians to feel like part of America. This is depicted in the term red brother that was repeatedly used by the government in the treaties they signed to refer to Indians. In its endeavours to treat Indians as brothers, the government passed some laws which increased trade interaction between the Indians and the white settlers (Ford 101). The government went to the extent of recognizing Indians as a sovereign state. This was even enshrined in the constitution through the commerce clause. The clause placed the Indians under the federal government and not under state authority. However, this harmonious relationship did not last for long. Soon the white settlers realized that Indians were not ready to willingly give up their land. On the other hand, the white settlers aimed the land especially to the west of the Pacific Ocean (Housel 65). Since the government was made up mostly of the whites who had the same agenda, they resulted in treaties and laws to remove Indians.

The use of treaties and laws

All treaties that were signed between the U.S. government and the Indians before or after 1800 were done in the expectation that the government will act in utmost good faith and will always ensure that Indians are not hurt. However, that was not the case. The government used the treaties that Indians signed for their advantage. They tricked Indians into agreeing to give up some of their lands in exchange to other goodies. While in most cases the Indians upheld their end of the bargain, the U.S. government did not (Ford 109).

Following the rumours that Indians attacked and killed white settlers who passed through their land, there was a conference that led to the signing of the Treaty of Fort Laramie. The treaty required each Indian community to have a marked territory which was in return to be respected by the government of America. Attacks on settlers were also to be stopped. This was good only up to when the U.S. government realized that there were mineral deposits in the west. By all means, the U.S. government had to get the minerals. They, therefore, decided to break the agreement and force Indians out of their lands. They implemented reservations to confine the Indians while giving settlers room to encroach into the lands that belonged to the natives.

The Treaty of St. Mary which was signed in 1818 is also another one that was used to rob off the natives their final remaining land. In the process, the natives were even moved to a different state. On the same note, the laws that were passed gave the U.S. government an upper hand as compared to the Indians (Housel 78). One such example is the case of Cherokee Nation v. Georgia 1831. In this case, the court held that Indian nations were not eligible for the entire attributes of sovereignty and would therefore not operate as a sovereign state.

Resistance from the natives

The natives did not just relax and watch their land taken away. They put up resistance in various forms. While other Indian tribes resulted for fiscal fighting, some went to courts to seek redress of the issues in question. In one instance, the Cheyennes, Arapahos, Comanches and Sioux went into war after the government introduced reservations. However, they suffered a great defeat and their land was still taken. After the breakdown of the Treaty of Greenville, Tecumseh organized war to resist further advances by the government to take their land (Ford, 115). The creek also organized a war in 1813-1814 in their struggle to stop further acquisition of their land. In some instances, the Indian communities were supported by the Britons though this stopped after 1812 when the Britons abandoned them to the U.S. government.

Removal act

When President Andrew Jackson took the reins of power, acquiring more land from the natives was his main agenda. However, after realizing that Indians had become resistant and aware of the hidden agenda of treaties, he decided to use federal policy. This resulted to the Removal Act of 1830. The Act gave the president power to evict natives by force from their land in case they refused to do so willingly (Osburn 1262). It is this act that was used to forcefully move several Indian tribes out of their lands. In other cases, the government killed many natives even before asking them whether they could willingly leave or not. Many people lost their lives in the process of being relocated due to starvation, diseases and due to fatigue after travelling for long distances. The worst scenario was in 1938 when all remaining native communities were rounded up and forced out westwards in a dehumanizing way that is popularly known as the Trail of Tears (Housel 84). In a nut shell, the removal act increased the number of settlers in west of Mississippi.

Allotment and Assimilation

Later on, especially years after 1871, the Indian wars had notably decreased. This was brought about by the death or capture of the Indian personalities who were leading the wars. The U.S. government then sought for an alternative way of ensuring that Indians were absorbed into the American culture. It was the belief of many Americans that keeping Indians in reservation all on their own was only assisting them to maintain their culture and thus it impeded assimilation. Federal laws were then passed to enable the president to allocate land to Indians (Housel 82). Indians were encouraged to become farmers. On the same note, some native cultural practices were outlawed. Schools were introduced in the reservations where Indian children were taught American way of life as being the best. This quickly brought the native traditions to their extinct.

Conclusion

The new U.S. government that was formed after colonization was majorly concerned on how to advance the interests of the settlers. In this regard, all the treaties that it entered to with the Indian natives were just meant to disguise its true intentions. The treaties were in fact meant to remove the Indians from their land and in cases where they failed then coercion and even murder was used.

Works Cited

Ford, Lacy. “Reconfiguring the Old South: Solving the Problem of Slavery, 1887-1838.” The Journal of American History 95.1 (2008): 99-122. Print.

Housel, Debra J. Leveled Texts: American Indians in the 1800s. Huntington: Teacher Created Materials, 2014. Print.

Osburn, Katherine M. “Black Slaves, Indian Masters: Slavery, Emancipation, and Citizenship in the Native American South.” American Historical Review 119.4 (2014): 1261-1263. Print.

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