Did The American Revolution Lead To The Native American Genocide
To what extent did the aspects of the American Revolution lead to the Native American genocide? The aspects of the American Revolution can strongly be held liable for the Native American Genocide
During the American Revolution, the newly founded United States competed with the British for independence and the rights to the Native American nations, located east of the Mississippi River. A majority of the Natives sided with the British, in hopes of ceasing further expansion on their land by the Americans, by defeating them. The rest were wooed by the American’s with false hope and promises, as they were told that if the American’s won, the Native’s would get back a hearty amount of their land back. Many Native tribes were divided over which side to support during the war. However, once the British made peace with the Americans in the Treaty of Paris (1783), the Native …show more content…
This assimilation forcing the Natives to convert to Christianity, learn to speak and read English, and adopt European ways of living, such as the economical practices of individual ownership of land and other property, ripped them from their own culture. Children were kidnapped and forced into boarding schools, to “cleanse” their mind of their ethnic impurities. Their native names were replaced with European names such as Susan or Thomas, or even in some cases, replaced with numbers. Their hair, a symbol of their identity to their tribes and cultures, were shaved identically to one another. Their clothes, replaced with uniforms. Children were not allowed to speak in their native tongue, and were punished severely if they did. The whitewashing of the children’s mind, whom were often vessels for the passing of generational knowledge and the life line of the indigenous people’s culture, made sure to rid the Native’s of their identities, in hopes that they would then conform to the European
During the American Revolution, the newly founded United States competed with the British for independence and the rights to the Native American nations, located east of the Mississippi River. A majority of the Natives sided with the British, in hopes of ceasing further expansion on their land by the Americans, by defeating them. The rest were wooed by the American’s with false hope and promises, as they were told that if the American’s won, the Native’s would get back a hearty amount of their land back. Many Native tribes were divided over which side to support during the war. However, once the British made peace with the Americans in the Treaty of Paris (1783), the Native …show more content…
This assimilation forcing the Natives to convert to Christianity, learn to speak and read English, and adopt European ways of living, such as the economical practices of individual ownership of land and other property, ripped them from their own culture. Children were kidnapped and forced into boarding schools, to “cleanse” their mind of their ethnic impurities. Their native names were replaced with European names such as Susan or Thomas, or even in some cases, replaced with numbers. Their hair, a symbol of their identity to their tribes and cultures, were shaved identically to one another. Their clothes, replaced with uniforms. Children were not allowed to speak in their native tongue, and were punished severely if they did. The whitewashing of the children’s mind, whom were often vessels for the passing of generational knowledge and the life line of the indigenous people’s culture, made sure to rid the Native’s of their identities, in hopes that they would then conform to the European