Native American Genocide
Was U.S. Policy Toward Native Americans During the Periods of Expansion, Colonization, and Early U.S. an act of Genocide ?
“To conquer a nation, one must first disarm its citizens.”
- Adolf Hitler, 1933
Abiona Yemane US History Ms.Brown
Section F
Independent Research Project
4 June 2014
Introduction
In August of 1492 Columbus set sail from Spain hoping to soon arrive in Asia, but a few months later he arrived in the Bahamas and claimed it as new land. He thought he had discovered a new land, but little did he know— or care—that this land was already inhabited by a group of Indigenous peoples called Native Americans. Columbus proceeded to take over this land, exploit it for its riches, and abuse its peoples. A couple centuries after Columbus's exploration, a group of pilgrims, people who travel for religious reasons, arrived in New England. The first pilgrims that came to America were Christians fleeing England for religious freedom, and they landed in Plymouth in 1614. When landing in the New World, the first thing they saw was Plymouth Rock, which is currently in Provincetown, Massachusetts. While in Plymouth they met an English speaking Native American named Squanto. This man helped the settlers, and made it possible for the Pilgrims to survive the harsh New England weather. According to Trabich, an effect of the discovery of the new world was the extermination of 95 percent of the Native American population. Many people consider what Columbus and the settlers of the New World did an act of genocide, but some do not.
In this situation genocide is defined as the deliberate killing of a large group of people, especially those of a particular ethnic group or nation.That ethnic group is the Native Americans, which is defined as the members of any of the indigenous groups of the Americas. The question here is whether or not the U.S. policy toward these Native Americans during the periods of expansion, colonization, and
“To conquer a nation, one must first disarm its citizens.”
- Adolf Hitler, 1933
Abiona Yemane US History Ms.Brown
Section F
Independent Research Project
4 June 2014
Introduction
In August of 1492 Columbus set sail from Spain hoping to soon arrive in Asia, but a few months later he arrived in the Bahamas and claimed it as new land. He thought he had discovered a new land, but little did he know— or care—that this land was already inhabited by a group of Indigenous peoples called Native Americans. Columbus proceeded to take over this land, exploit it for its riches, and abuse its peoples. A couple centuries after Columbus's exploration, a group of pilgrims, people who travel for religious reasons, arrived in New England. The first pilgrims that came to America were Christians fleeing England for religious freedom, and they landed in Plymouth in 1614. When landing in the New World, the first thing they saw was Plymouth Rock, which is currently in Provincetown, Massachusetts. While in Plymouth they met an English speaking Native American named Squanto. This man helped the settlers, and made it possible for the Pilgrims to survive the harsh New England weather. According to Trabich, an effect of the discovery of the new world was the extermination of 95 percent of the Native American population. Many people consider what Columbus and the settlers of the New World did an act of genocide, but some do not.
In this situation genocide is defined as the deliberate killing of a large group of people, especially those of a particular ethnic group or nation.That ethnic group is the Native Americans, which is defined as the members of any of the indigenous groups of the Americas. The question here is whether or not the U.S. policy toward these Native Americans during the periods of expansion, colonization, and
Bibliography: Churchill, Ward. A Little Matter of Genocide: Holocaust and Denial in the Americas, 1492 to the Present. San Francisco: City Lights, 1997. Print. Commentary, Sept. 2004. Web. 11 May 2014..