Indian Policies of the 1800's.
"Indian Removal Act"
What is the "Indian Removal Act"?
In the mid 1800's The Indian Removal Act forced Native American tribes East of the Mississippi to abandon their homes and move west to land given to them by the U.S government.
Osceola
Leader of the Seminole tribe in Florida did not agree with the Indian Removal Act and revolted against the U.S using guerrilla war tactics in the Everglades, resulting in almost 2,000 U.S casualties before they agreed to emigrate West.
Black Hawk
The Sauk and Fox tribes which were led across the Mississippi into Iowa later crossed back over and fought the U.S, but they ended up being slaughtered and Black Hawk captured.
Two Ways the Government Could Have Handled This Better:
The Americans could have made more peaceful agreements with the Natives to move or not have taken their land in the first place.
Natives should have been able to keep most if not all of their land and not be slaughtered for us to have the land.
The Impact Today
Indian tribes were brought under federal funding with the promise that the federal government would hold less control.
Interesting Fact
Several Indian nations in Connecticut and New York, sue to gain independence on tribal reservation land. Indians win these cases paving the way for the creation of gambling operations on reservation land. Today there are casinos on several reservations providing millions of dollars of income for those tribes.
Citations
"Andrew Jackson." Britannica School. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2015. Web. 11 Mar. 2015. <http://school.eb.com/levels/middle/article/275112#229748.toc>.
pbs.org.PBS, n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2015.
<http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2959.html>
Socialstudieshelp.com,. 'US Policies Towards Native Americans'. N.p., 2015. Web. 18 Mar. 2015. <http://www.socialstudieshelp.com/Lesson_41_Notes.htm>