Search results
1783 to 1830
- From 1783 to 1830, American Indian policy reflected the new American nation-state’s desire to establish its own legitimacy and authority, by controlling Native American peoples and establishing orderly and prosperous white settlements in the continental interior.
oxfordre.com/americanhistory/americanhistory/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199329175.001.0001/acrefore-9780199329175-e-42
Oct 1, 2024 · Many Native American tribes allied with the British during the Revolutionary War. However, the Treaty of Paris, which ended the war, was silent on the fates of these British allies. The new United States government was thus free to acquire Native American lands by treaty or force.
The U.S. federal government recognized American Indian tribes as independent nations and came to policy agreements with them via treaties. As the U.S. accelerated its westward expansion, internal political pressure grew for "Indian removal", but the pace of treaty-making grew regardless.
- Treaty of Hopewell
- Andrew Jackson
- Indian Removal Act
- Trail of Tears
- The Indian Appropriations Act
- Life on Indian Reservations
- The Dawes Act
- The Indian Reorganization Act
- Modern Indian Reservations
- Sources
In 1785, the Treaty of Hopewell was signed in Georgia—the largest state at the time—placing the native Cherokees under the protection of a young United States and setting boundaries for their land. But it wasn’t long before European settlers intruded on Cherokee land. The Cherokees cried foul and revolted against the white settlements. To reestabli...
After the Louisiana Purchase, Thomas Jefferson hoped to move eastern Indian tribes past the Mississippi River—but most Indians rejected his idea. When Georgia held lotteries to allocate seized Indian land, the battle-weary Creeks who’d sought sanctuary in east Alabama fought for their independence against the militia of Andrew Jackson, which includ...
On May 28, 1830, the Indian Removal Act was signed by President Jackson. The Act allowed the government to divide land west of the Mississippi to give to Indian tribes in exchange for the land they’d lost. The government would pick up the cost of relocating the Indians and helping them resettle. The Indian Removal Act was controversial, but Jackson...
Over the next few years, the Choctaw, Chickasaw and Creeks were forced to move westward on foot, often in chains and with little or no food and supplies. Even some Indians in the North were forced to relocate. In 1838, President Martin Van Buren sent federal troops to march the remaining southern Cherokee holdouts 1,200 miles to Indian territory in...
As white settlers continued westward and needed more land, Indian territory shrank—but there was no more land for the government to move them to. In 1851, Congress passed the Indian Appropriations Act, which created the Indian reservation system and provided funds to move Indian tribes onto farming reservations and hopefully keep them under control...
Daily living on the reservations was hard at best. Not only had tribes lost their native lands, but it was almost impossible to maintain their culture and traditions inside a confined area. Feuding tribes were often thrown together and Indians who were once hunters struggled to become farmers. Starvation was common, and living in close quarters has...
In 1887, the Dawes Act was signed by President Grover Clevelandallowing the government to divide reservations into small plots of land for individual Indians. The government hoped the legislation would help Indians assimilate into white culture easier and faster and improve their quality of life. But the Dawes Act had a devastating impact on Native...
After a review of life on Indian reservations known as the Meriam Survey, it was clear the Dawes Act was severely detrimental to Native Americans. The law was ended in 1934 and replaced with the Indian Reorganization Act with the goals of restoring Indian culture and returning surplus land to tribes. It also encouraged tribes to self-govern and wri...
Modern Indian reservations still exist across the United States and fall under the umbrella of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). The tribes on each reservation are sovereign and not subject to most federal laws. They handle most reservation-related obligations but depend on the federal government for financial support. On many reservations, the m...
1851: Congress creates reservations to manage Native peoples. U.S. National Library of Medicine, Native Voices. Bureau of Indian Affairs. USA.gov. Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA): Mission Statement. U.S. Department of the Interior: Bureau of Indian Affairs. Cherokee Removal. New Georgia Encyclopedia. Indian Removal Timeline. University of Houston Di...
- 4 min
Oct 27, 2022 · In a major reversal of federal policy toward Native Americans, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signs the Indian Reorganization Act into law on June 18, 1934.
- Missy Sullivan
Nov 10, 2020 · In around 1722, the Tuscarora nation joined the Iroquois, also known as the Haudenosaunee. Together, these six nations formed a multi-state government while maintaining their own individual...
- Becky Little
On June 2, 1924, U.S. Republican President Calvin Coolidge signed the Indian Citizenship Act, which made citizens of the United States of all Native Americans born in the United States and its territories and who were not already citizens.
Oct 4, 2024 · Indian Removal Act, (May 28, 1830), first major legislative departure from the U.S. policy of officially respecting the legal and political rights of the American Indians. The act authorized the president to grant Indian tribes unsettled western prairie land in exchange for their desirable territories within state borders (especially in the ...
