NATIVE AMERICAN HISTORY From Manifest Destiny to Present

NATIVE AMERICAN HISTORY From Manifest Destiny to Present

“Manifest Destiny” O’SULLIVAN • The belief that the U. S. A. was destined to control the continent of North America • John L. O’Sullivan (1845): “And that claim is by the right of our manifest destiny to overspread and to possess the whole of the continent which Providence has given us for the development of the great experiment of liberty and federated self-government entrusted to us. ” • He meant white Americans when he said “our” and “us”

Where Did We Get the Land?

EFFECTS ON NATIVE AMERICANS: A) PRE-CIVIL WAR (early 1800 s): 1) From its start, U. S. policy toward Native Americans was to treat each tribe as a foreign nation. U. S. gov’t made deals with tribes for land. 2) Indian Removal Act (1830): law that gave Indian tribes east of Miss. River land in “Indian Territory” (W. of Miss. River) Andrew Jackson 3) U. S. Army and settlers fought tribes over land Trail of Tears=forced removal of Cherokee from GA to OK, 1838

B. PATH TO CITIZENSHIP (18691924) 1) In 1869, President Ulysses S. Grant promised laws to “civilize” Native Ams so they could become U. S. citizens. Ended treatment of tribes as foreign nations in 1871. 2) “Indian Schools” in Eastern states: Indian children taken from families and sent to learn English language & white culture 3) 1887 Dawes Severalty Act: land taken from tribes and held “in severalty” (separately) by each family in the tribe. Still on reservation, but tribal council no longer controlled land (more like U. S. citizens that way). Subject to U. S. law.

BEFORE AFTER

C. CITIZENSHIP ARRIVES (1924 -Present) 1) 1924 Indian Citizenship Act: President Calvin Coolidge granted full citizenship to Native Americans. Tribes (not individuals) exempt from fed. & st. taxes. 2) Bureau of Indian Affairs (B. I. A. ): given power to fix poverty on Indian reservations. BIA officials, not tribal councils, made these decisions. 3) 1934 Indian Reorganization Act (“Indian New Deal”): banned U. S. gov’t sale of Indian land, and returned unclaimed land to tribal councils. Allowed Indian tribes to create business corporations. Tribal councils allowed to govern reservations instead of BIA.

D. RELOCATION AND TERMINATION (1940 s-1960 s) 1) Relocation (1948 -1960): The BIA gave tribal members money to relocate to urban areas (more jobs than on reservation). By 1960, about 30% of Indians lived in cities. 2) Termination Policy (1953): Congress ended BIA control of poverty on reservations. Indians now became fully governed by fed. & st. laws. and equal to other American citizens.

1952 Relocation Advertise ment, Denver, CO

EFFECTS of AIM PROTESTS: • “Self-Determination Without Termination”: new policy announced by Pres. Nixon 1970. • Through laws and court decisions, U. S. gov’t returned some N. Am. lands to tribes. • Increased gov’t funding for health care on reservations + programs for urban Indians • Tribal councils recognized: can vote to stay under Fed. Gov. protection (tax-free, land protected), or govern own affairs without Fed. Gov.

• EFFECTS of TERMINATION: 1) State gov’ts responsible for reservations in their state. State gov’ts didn’t want this extra responsibility + tribes didn’t want to adjust to state’s laws and taxes. 2) About 2. 5 million acres of Indian land sold off. Reservations left with barren, unproductive land far from local services (schools, hospitals, jobs, etc. )

Justice for Native Americans • What is the best way for Native Americans to protest for justice from the U. S. government? 1) Write 3 promises the U. S. broke in each of the 3 time periods (early 1800 s, late 1800 s, 1900 s). 2) Plan your protest: a) What do you want (justice)? b) What specific person or group would be responsible for making this happen? c) What, specifically, will your group do to ensure that you get justice (nonviolent protest)?

This painting (circa 1872), by John Gast, called American Progress, is an allegorical representation of Manifest Destiny. Here Columbia, intended as a personification of the United States, leads civilization westward with American settlers, stringing telegraph wire as she travels; she holds a schoolbook. The different economic activities of the pioneers are highlighted and, especially, the changing forms of transportation. The Indians and wild animals flee.