Examples Of False American Ideals

False American Ideals As many call the Indian Holocaust, the poor treatment of Indians in America existed the minute Europeans stepped foot on their land. In 1492, Columbus arrived in the New World only to find that it was already inhabited. Still, the Europeans murdered, enslaved, and relocated the Native Americans westward. Still, hundreds of years later in the 1800’s, this indigent treatment of Native Americans still existed. By examining the events: the Cherokee Nation in court, the Trail of Tears, and the Seminole Wars; it can be concluded that there is a false sense of constitutional government, equality, and opportunity for Native Americans. Americans’ treatment of the Cherokee tribe in the 1820’s and 30’s shows that a constitutional government is meaningless when it does not enforce its decisions and laws. The Cherokee Nation in the 1820’s had lost many of its land to angry
citizens of Georgia driven by racial tensions and selfish desire for wealth (Norton 254). Unlike many of the other Native American tribes who agreed to leave, the Cherokee tribe took a stand. They sued the state of Georgia in the Cherokee Nation versus Georgia and in Worchester versus Georgia. The verdicts declared that the Cherokee tribe had no position in federal courts but they could only voluntarily lose the right to the title of their land (254). However, Georgians and President Andrew Jackson ignored the verdict and continued to push into Cherokee territory (254). The action by these individuals shows that the essential principles of a constitutional government are futile when they are not enforced. Although the courts declared the case in favor of the Native Americans, both the government and the people ignored the constitutional verdict. What good is a constitutional government if the principles do not govern the nation? Overall, the Cherokee tribe in the courts reveal how there is a false sense of the American constitutional government and its main principles of equality.
The Trail of Tears exhibits how “all men are [not] created equal” (Declaration of Independence). One of America's main beliefs that separated them from their English tyranny was that they believed that every man had equal rights. However, in the winter of 1831 and 1832 after the Removal Act of 1830, several Native American tribes, like the Choctaws and the Creeks, were forced to migrate from their homelands in Mississippi and Alabama to the west (255). The coarse journey to the west caused many Native Americans to die, become sick, or injured; still, the Americans showed no mercy (255). This event shows that America does not actually believe in equality for everyone. They considered Native Americans to be inferior than themselves, and therefore, can steal their land and force them out of it like a herd of sheep. Overall, America’s main principle of equality only pertains to themselves and they do not even give Native Americans the opportunity to gain it. The Seminole Wars reveals America’s ideas that there is only one opportunity for Native Americans: leave.
Immigrants called America ‘the land of opportunity’, however, they did not see the asterisk next to it which expounds that it only pertains to Anglo-Americans. The Native Americans, although they did not immigrate to the country, realized this fact as well. In 1835, American troops were tasked with removing Native Americans from American territory, known as the Seminole wars (255). The leader of the Seminoles, Osceola, led his tribe to resist the United State’s efforts to relocate them. However, Osceola was captured and placed in prison, where he would die in 1838 (255). Many of his followers agreed to the United States’ terms to relocate to the west. These wars show that Native Americans were not given the opportunity to live in peace alongside Americans. They were proffered to leave in the Indian Removal Act, but when they refused, they were obliged to leave in the Seminole Wars. The only opportunity Native Americans got, like the Seminoles, was to give-in to American
demands. In conclusion, the treatment of Native Americans during the time period from 1815-1860 shows the professed American ideals of a constitutional government, equality, and opportunity. From the Cherokee tribe, the event in court exhibits how there is a false sense of a constitutional government. Also, the Trail of Tears reveals how Americans do not actually believe in equality. Lastly, the Seminole wars show that Americans do not give opportunities to everyone, including the Native Americans. Overall, America was and still strives to be the land of freedom and equality, but, it never has actually fulfilled their ambition.