The Relations Between Native Americans and Colonists free essay sample

This feeling of superiority led to an outbreak of violence and many different civil Wars. Due to the Native American and the Colonists irreconcilable differences many casualties were suffered by both sides leading to more wars and the displacement of many Indian tribes. One of the Native Americans biggest killers was illness, specifically Small Pox. The immune system of the Native Americans did not have the same tolerances as that of the European Settlers. Their immune systems could not handle exposure to the diseases that they have never been exposed to before.It has been rumored the while trading with the Native Americans, the Illinois purposely gave them blankets infected with the Small pox disease. Small Pox was not the only illness that was prevalent during the settling of the colonies. Dobson (1983) and Merely (1984) report several European-induced epidemics in Florida, the Carolinas, and Virginia between 1519 and 1 750, including smallpox, bubonic plague, typhus, mumps, influenza, yellow fever, and measles, although Dobson research has been argued methodically unsound by others. Bubonic plague and scarlet fever depopulated the Seneca in the asses to such an extent that four village settlements were arced to amalgamate into two. Archaeologists found Seneca ceramics dating to the post-epidemic period that were characterized by rough, uneven craftsmanship, suggesting the epidemics killed a substantial percentage of skilled artisans and thus eliminated some cultural Illness was only one of the issues between Colonists and Indians. Another cause for poor relations between Native Americans and European Settlers was the constant push for acquiring new land by the Colonists. The Native Americans did not just want to give up their land and this resulted in war between the Indians and the Colonists. During this time Native Americans were sold into slavery belittled and removed from their land, due to the fact that the Colonists had more advanced technology and weapons. One of the major wars was the French and Indian War which resulted in the removal Of Native Americans from their land and many casualties on both sides. Over time many battles were fought over land, even after America was an established country with presidents, laws, and court systems.Native Americans were continually pushed out of their land for hundreds of years while they were forced to move west. The constant push of Native Americans UT of their land would cause an event known as the Trail of Tears where thousands of Indians were removed from their land by the Indian Removal Act. In 1830 the Congress of the United States passed the Indian Removal Act. Although many Americans were against the act, most notably Tennessee Congressman Dad Crockett, it passed any. Way. President Jackson quickly signed the bill into law.The Cherokees attempted to fight removal legally by challenging the removal laws in the Supreme Court and by establishing an independent Cherokee Nation. At first the court seemed to rule against the Indians. In Cherokee Nation v. Georgia, the Court refused to hear a case extending Georgians laws on the Cherokee because they did not represent a sovereign nation. In 1832, the U. S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Cherokee on the same issue in Worcester v. Georgia. In this case Chief Justice John Marshall ruled that the Cherokee Nation was sovereign, making the removal laws invalid.The Cherokee would have to agree to removal in a treaty. The treaty then would have to be ratified by the Senate (Trail Of Tears). Because of the many wars between Native Americans and the Colonists, Indians went from owning most of the land in America to being limited to a few reserves in their own country. Because of the colonists and the many years of war bewilder them and the Natives the Native American went from dominating America to now having pitiful reserves allotted to them.Their population dramatically decreased from the start, and kept declining after new diseases plagued them, bitter weather lashed at them during their treks across America from being pushed off their land, and because of the wars endless amounts of Natives were slaughtered. With the arrival of colonists came the demise of the Native Americans (Nubbin). The European Settlers would take advantage of tribes and use them for their own benefit. The Pawned became scouts.They were very successful in helping protect the railroad as it was being built across Nebraska, and they accompanied several U. S. Amy expeditions against the warring Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho. But, by the late 1 8705, the Pawned Scouts were disbanded, and the U. S. Government had removed most members of the Pawned tribe from Nebraska to Indian Territory south of Nebraska (Conflict and Negotiation). Even after the Pawned Indians were instrumental in the retention of the railroad tracks, there land was still taken from them.During the colonial times many peace treaties were sign by both sides for ensure tranquility in the region. The Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851 was made in a effort to promote peace among settlers and rival tribes. The tribes and government negotiated a treaty with some key points: peace among tribes, $50,000 per tribe for 10 years, where the Indians were allowed to hunt and fish, and for the United States to establish roads and forts. If the treaty was violated then the Government could withhold the money from the tribes. Unfortunately the peace did not last.In 1 854 -? eight years before the Homestead Act -? some Alaska near Fort Laramie butchered an emigrants cow they thought was abandoned. Lat. John Grants and 29 soldiers were sent to investigate the incident. Grants opened fire on the Indian camp. The Indians retaliated, killing all of the soldiers. The next year Gene. William Harley was ordered to restore peace on the trail. He found a Alaska camp at Blue Water Creek in Garden County and attacked it, although the camp residents had nothing to do with the Grants slaughter. Harnesss troops killed 136 men, women, and children.Although peace was restored, pressure continued to build, and war broke out again in 1863 with attacks on Overland Trail travelers. In 1867 the Alaska pushed eastward and attacked a Join Pacific railroad train in Dawson County, Nebraska. Attempts at peaceful settlements resulted in payments of food, guns, and other goods to the Alaska (Conflict and Negotiation). So even after America gave its word in the form of a contract they would opt out of the deal as they pleased. With the United States being overbearing and power hungry, the allegations was doomed for failure.