Download Native Americans and Westward Expansion 1829 1829 1861

Native Americans and Westward Expansion 1829
1829 ­­ 1861 By Nick, Grace, and Conrad
Nick, Grace, and Conrad When you think of the American West, you
probably think of the California Gold Rush.
It’s a fact that this event did raise California’s
prospectors to 80,000, but there still was a
piece of land between California and St.
Louis. So, yes, this did indeed help the
population, but yet, there still was that piece
of land.
• For hundreds of years, the white settlers had been trying to mov
For hundreds of years, the white settlers had been trying to mov e the Native Americans westward • By the 1820
By the 1820 ’’ s, there were about 100,000 Native Americans living east of the Mississippi River • Settlers saw these remaining tribes as an obstruction and uncivilized • Laws were passed by Congress to make it ““ legal
legal ” to move Indians • The Indian Removal Act of 1830 gave President Andrew Jackson the authority to arrange for the eastern tribes to pack up a
the authority to arrange for the eastern tribes to pack up a nd move west of the Mississippi • The Act was very specific and stated President Jackson could only move the Indians with their consent
only move the Indians with their consent • The Act caused a lot of hardship and changed the relationship between the white people and Native Americans • The areas that are now known as Oklahoma, parts of Kansas, and Nebraska, were known as Indian Territory which was where the Native Americans would set up their new homes • Numerous tribes were impacted by the relocation Act – Choctaw, Creek, Cherokee, Seminoles, and many others
• The five major tribes that lived in the southeast were called the Five Civilized Tribes by settlers, one of which were the Cherokee • The Cherokee had adopted the ways of the white man and they did not feel they should be made to move • The Cherokee took their case to the Supreme Court • The Supreme Court ruled in their favor • President Jackson ignored the ruling and tricked the Cherokee into moving west • President Jackson had the Cherokee sign a treaty, some left, the rest were forced to leave their homes with nothing but their clothes on their backs • They were forced to walk the Trail of Tears • The Seminoles were forced to leave Florida and resisted under the leadership of Chief Osceola
• The Native Americans not only had to endure being forced from their homeland, they also caught diseases carried by settlers • The deadliest of these was Small Pox • Other threats to the Native American included disagreements with the settlers, which at times ended up as battles or massacres • The Grattan Massacre was caused because of a misunderstanding involving a stray cow. • Additional hardships to the Native Americans came from being pushed aside by the numerous trails westward. • Two of the most popular trails were the Santa Fe, which extended from Missouri to New Mexico, and Oregon, which extended from Missouri to Oregon and was key to the entire western part of the United States
Westward Expansion
In Conclusion
In Conclusion … Relations between the white men and Native Americans during this period of westward expansion was very complicated and many times resulted in acts of kindness, as well as massacres and murders committed on both sides. These acts were committed by settlers and braves, all the way up to chiefs and the President of the United States. Today, some Native Americans live on reservations, while others do not. Some work along side the same people whose ancestors would have been killing each other just a hundred and fifty years ago.
Questions
Questions