The Five Civilized Tribes And The Plains Indians

During westward expansion many Native American Tribes were forced out of their homelands and moved into what was known as “Indian Territory” which is modern-day Oklahoma. The Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Seminole, and Creeks, known as the “five civilized tribes” and the Plains Indians, which had been relocated to the western part of the territory on land leased from the Five Civilized Tribes, were moved into this area. Many of these tribes were enemies and were now being forced to live next to each other, which was not easy. Because of this, the tribes struggled for power amongst themselves. Cherokee nation was usually most powerful but now they were having to learn to live in a western way which didn’t carry on their traditional activities.
Each tribe had boundaries of their land, an established government, and peace treaties. The war began between the north and the south over the issue of slavery. It was fought in many different places between many different groups and tribes. The majority of the fighting took place in the states of Tennessee and Virginia but also ranged from Texas to Pennsylvania, and the coast of Florida to New Mexico. Some population estimates that around 1860 there were as many as 100,000 people in the Indian Territory at this time. A mix of Caddo’s, Pawnees, and Osages came through this area regularly to hunt or steal horses while the Plains people, known as the Kiowa’s, Comanche’s, and Plains Apaches claimed western Oklahoma as their range of home. Kickapoos, Shawnees, Delaware’s, Piankashaws, and other small tribes set up camps passing through this part of the area as well. However, the lands legally belonged to the Chickasaw, Choctaw, Cherokee, Creek and Seminole Nations according to the Federal government (Warde, P. 4-5). The Cherokees were the largest tribe and had the biggest known population. Their estimated population was around thirty thousand. Their neighbors, the Creeks had a population of about fifteen thousand. The Seminoles were the smallest tribe and were kind of spread out by about the 1800s (Warde, p.
War action in the South around their homes also made it hard to survive and created hardships. Even though the North had more troops, they were having to travel which made it difficult for them because they did not know the area they were fighting on. The south, being an agricultural region, had more difficultly than the North manufacturing needed goods. So overall, the union had an advantage throughout the war. The union victory in the civil war may have given nearly 4 million slaves freedom, but the process of rebuilding the South during the Reconstruction Period was going to be difficult and face many challenges. The effect of the war on the tribes living in the South was devastating. The entire economy of the South had to rebuild. The Confederacy’s population severely decreased because how many people were killed in the war. The residents at one point occupied by Union forces. Eleven of the towns were destroyed or severely damaged by war action (Baird, p. 111). Overall, the Union was