To what extent were Native American groups impacted by westward expansion?

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Extent of the impact of the Westward Expansion on Native Americans
The 19th century brought a lot of changes to America and its surrounding soil. One of such events was when white settlers started to expand to the west. The desire to become rich quickly highly contributed to this expansion. There was the idea of wanting to “protect” the native people since they were deemed weak. Before the colonization, there were about 10million native people. But once the establishment and closure of the frontier took place, only 400,000 were confirmed present. The few that remained were subjected to various hardships, (“Bureau Of Indian Affairs (BIA) | Indian Affairs.”). The native people were completely deprived of the social, legal and economic aspects of their lives. Since the Native Americans were viewed as enemies of progress, they were treated with such cruelty. The cruelty that saw the natives live a tough life on their land. Moreover, the changes administered by the Europeans was cultural social, political, and economic. For example, the social aspect of the people changed with time as new ways of living started developing, (“Catalog.Archives.Gov ,” Collison, 6). The traditional Native American dressing changed with time and even the houses that people were living in developed to something else. This paper will examine the changes that have taken place in America ever since the Whiteman started migrating to the land. Hence, we will analyze the life from different points of view such as political, social and economic aspects.

There was a great negative impact of the Westward Expansion on the Native Americans
To begin with, the natives were subjected to high degrees of outrageous hypocrisy. For example, the removal act of 1830 subjected many American tribes to discrimination with some “civilized tribes” being recognized as external nations. This meant that there was no inclusivity in the government and some of the tribes being tortured to some extent. It is no surprise that the European were met with resistance from various locals such as Sitting Bull. Being a local leader, Sitting Bull rose to the occasion and resisted the Whiteman’s encroachment to America for a long period, (“Our Documents – Dawes Act (1887),” 6). The government used force to suppress the native so that they can conform to its rule. For example, Sitting Bull despite surrendering to the government was forced to live on a reservation. Later on, Sitting Bull was shot and killed by government agents along with other collaborators. His crime? He was deemed capable of restoring the way of life of his tribe, the Sioux. The fear was that the white domination would be resisted and hence the government had to use tricks to get the Indian agents to assist them in killing Sitting Bull. There was another one, the “Indian Appropriations Act of 1871” that did not recognize the independence of the Indian tribes, (“Cite A Website – Cite This For Me,”). Subsequently, the freedom was taken away from the locals as they were subjected to the government rule despite not taking part in its formation and administration. After the civil war in America, people were paid $10 USD to move west. Anyone above 21 years would be allowed to buy up to 160 acres of land. As a result, more than 80 million acres of land were sold in the western part of America. Subsequently, a situation of largely privatized lands occurred. This period saw the Louisiana purchase taking place.
The natives living along Mississippi were also forcefully removed from their land due to the westward expansion. The whites saw the Indians as obstacles of development and would use anything to get them out from force to lies and promises. Moreover, clashes with the Mexicans was always going to happen due to this encroachment. The forced relocation left many of the Native Americans dead, “Cite A Website – Cite This For Me,” 1). Due to these policies, there were many border disputes with Mexicans, which culminated in the Mexican-American war. The bitter feud ended with many innocent people dead. The Rio Grande River was established to be a border between the state of Texas and Mexico. In general, the whites worn a war against the Mexicans and did whatever they wanted since they had the upper hand, (“Westward Expansion,” 50). From a social perspective, the culture of the natives was destroyed. It is seen that the interests of Americans came first. However, the interests of the Native Americans were never considered during to the westward expansion. Diseases also spread during the same period. Many people died as they did not have any immunity to the new diseases. Many people died from contracting the diseases. Hence, the westward expansion was detrimental to both the Mexicans and the Native Americans.
Indian reservations were created in 1824 to keep the Indians at one location so that they do not “interfere” with the progression. Indians were deemed as enemies of progress and the idea of getting rich quickly simply did not bode with their interests. As such, there was the agency, the Indian Affairs Bureau created to “take care” of them. The US Department of War was also involved in these acts of removing Indians from their land so that the westward expansion continues uninterrupted, (“Bureau Of Indian Affairs (BIA) | Indian Affairs,” 3). Due to the greedy nature of the people behind the expansion, it seemed very necessary to use all strategy to get the Indians out of the way and hence various moves from a political perspective. Even the president was up for the task of creating the reservations to keep the Indians at bay. Economically, the natives were left poor as they lost their farming lands to the foreigners, (“Catalog. Archives. Gov,” Collison, 6). They had nothing to sustain themselves, a condition that also contributed to the high numbers of their deaths. Moreover, with the expansion, the natives lost their culture as it eroded progressively with time.
From the 1870s, the Native Americans wanted to fight for their rights. However, an obstacle stood in their paths due to the denied political rights. Natives had to surrender their status so that they can be granted American nationality. Essentially, this was meant to erode their cultures completely so that there will be no dissidence or any resistance to the government. There were civil and racial blocks to prevent the natives from gaining their social and economic rights in America. As such, to gain such rights, several treaties had to be broken with time, (“Cite A Website – Cite This For Me,”). This saw the Dawes Act of 1887. Hence, the land could be surveyed by the government and allotted to the Indians by the president after the act was signed. During the individual land allotments by the president, the ancestry of people would then be traced to establish if one was a native or not. Moreover, anyone accepting allotment would be given the US citizenship while those who did were not considered. We see that even if something was being done here, the unity of the Indians and their ways of living was being destroyed.
The US president, Franklin D. Roosevelt signed into law the Indian Reorganization Act to assist Indians in developing their land. Education and vocational training would now be provided under this Act that was signed into law in the year 1934. The tribes were also granted rights for self-governing should they decide in a democratic manner. Today, the Native Americans are enjoying special privileges granted to them by the government as stipulated in the constitution, (“Cite A Website – Cite This For Me,” 9). Indian lands and resources are now conserved while they also enjoy certain rights from a credit system formed for them by the government. The local tribes gained more than 2 million acres of land from the government. The locals can now participate in various activities taking place in the country in matters pertaining to politics, economy, and culture, (“Our Documents – Dawes Act (1887),” 4). The natives’ way of living is now seen as a national heritage that should be enjoyed and preserved.
In conclusion, the Native American groups were impacted greatly in a negative manner due to the westward expansion. The main conflict was in the interests of different groups. The Euro-Americans wanted farming land whereas the locals preferred the land as it was so that they use it for hunting and gathering. The superiority complexion of the former saw them deem others as not progressive and thought that the uncultivated land was a waste, (“Bureau Of Indian Affairs (BIA) | Indian Affairs,” 3). There were also differences in religions between the two conflicting groups. The westward expansion under the project codename the “Manifest Destiny” affected the locals negatively largely. It also brought clashes with the Mexicans and hence the Mexican-American war, (“Westward Expansion,” 50). The Americans went to war and defeated the Mexicans resulting in a boundary being set up in the southwestern region of Texas.
Work cited
“Bureau Of Indian Affairs (BIA) | Indian Affairs.” Bia.Gov, 2018, https://www.bia.gov/bia.
Catalog.Archives.Gov, 2018, https://catalog.archives.gov/id/10452221.
“Our Documents – Dawes Act (1887).” Ourdocuments.Gov, 2018, https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=50″The Dawes Act: How Congress Tried To Destroy Indian Reservations | Oupblog.” Oupblog, 2018, https://blog.oup.com/2012/02/dawes-act-congress-indian-reservations/.
“Cite A Website – Cite This For Me.” Hg.Org, 2018, https://www.hg.org/article.asp?id=31571.
Railroad, Transcontinental. “Westward Expansion – Facts & Summary – HISTORY.Com.” HISTORY.Com, 2018, http://www.history.com/topics/westward-expansion