West/Immigration
By: Amanda Rodgers
Helen Hunt Jackson
Helen Hunt Jackson was an American poet and writer who became an activist on behalf of the improved treatment of Native Americans. Her novel Ramona (1884) was about the federal governments mistreatment to the Native Americans but people mostly read the book for the romanic and picturesque qualities. She married twice, once to U.S. Army Captain Edward Bissell Hunt (whom died in a military accident), and once to William Shapeless Jackson. When she was a child she was a classmate of Emily Dickinson. Helen Hunt Jackson started writing after the deaths of her family members. She published her books anonymously going by the name H.H.
Morrill Act
Also known as the Land Grant Collage Act, it was a major boost of higher education in America. It was originally set up to establish institutions in each state that would educate people in agriculture, home economics, mechanical arts, and other professions that were practical at the time. The act was introduced by a Vermont congressman named Justin Smith Morrill. He wanted to assure that education would be available to those in all social classes.
Dawes Act
The Dawes Act was named after its creator, Senator Henry Laurens Dawes of Massachusetts. Its was adopted by Congress in 1887 and authorized the President of the United States to survey American Indian tribal land and divide it into allotments for individual Indians. Those who accepted allotments and lived separately from the tribe would be granted a United States citizen. The objective of the Dawes Act was to stimulate assimilate of Indians into mainstream American society.
Ellis Island
Ellis Island is located in Upper New York Bay between New York and New Jersey. It was the gateway for millions of immigrants to the United States as the nation's busiest immigrants inspection station from 1892 and 1954. Before Ellis Island was a site for immigration it was the site of Fort Gibson and after that a naval artillery. The island was made part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument in 1965, and has hosted the museum of immigration since 1990.