The Role Of Native Americans In The Nineteenth Century

In the nineteenth century, American Indians led rough lives. They were oppressed and forced to move westward by the whiteman. They were forced out of the land that their ancestors had lived and died upon for centuries. With the way the Indian quality of life was headed, the Indian population was destined to suffer under the tyrannical rule of the white men. Indian tribes of the nineteenth century were forced to conform to the white peoples every wish in fear of death. “….reformers called for for new policies that would destroy native peoples traditional lifeways” (p. 525 America’s History 8th edition). The white folk were so desperate to gain the land that was originally meant for the Indians that they forced the various tribes onto reservations, only to continue to destroy the many traditions of the Indian peoples. The many Americans with the power to expand as they pleased outnumbered and outgunned the tribes of Indians. The tribes faced a genocide unless they did as the white man commanded.
“Congress canceled all the treaties with the Dakotas, revoked their annuities, and expelled them from Minnesota. The scattered bands fled west to join nonreservation allies” (p.527). When the Dakota Siouxs were forced onto a small strip of land and neglected the supplies the government promised, they revolted due to starvation. The US quickly responded with swift and powerful retaliation. 38 Dakota men were executed. The US government had no right to force any Indian tribe onto a fraction of the land they once roamed in favor of bringing more settlers in to farm. The Indians had to move out of the lands of their ancestors to prevent the US government from slaughtering