Dawes Severalty Act And Its Effect On Native Americans

Steven Adams Dr. Alexander Mendoza United Sates History II Journal Entries 1-10 Entry 1 What was the Dawes Act? It was named for Senator Henry L. Dawes of Massachusetts, chair of the Senate’s Indian Affairs Committee. It divided land into small sections, however this allowed the tribe to retain only a minor portion of land. The remaining land was purchased by whites. Did the Dawes act benefit the Plains Indians?

The Dawes Act of 1887 began the process of allotment. By trying to force Native Americans to become farmers, the federal government cast many groups into poverty. The land which the United States held in trust for Indians was usually not choice farmland. Those trying to make a living off the inhospitable lands of the West found little success. During the interwar period of the early twentieth century, the government made new efforts to alleviate Indians’ position as a marginalized group. Over 10,000 Native Americans volunteered and served with distinction in the armed forces during World War I. In recognition of their efforts, Congress passed the Indian Citizenship Act in 1924, making all American Indians United States citizens.

The ‘Gilded Age’ began from 1870s to 1900s and its politics contributed to the advancement of Capitalism. Entrepreneurs’ business practices were barbaric and unethical, then they were named as the ‘Robber Barons’. The ‘Robber Barons’ established monopolies, mistreated and exploited their workers. These savage practices lead to the establishment of the Antitrust Act which regulates businesses and promote fair competition for the benefit of consumers and diminish business monopolies. Between 1880s and 1890s were the years of significant political crisis. One of the notable political conflict was the farmers’ revolt in the late 19th century. Farmers’ lifestyle was complicated due to drought, boll weevils, rising costs, rising costs, declining prices, and high interest rates. They blamed railroad owners, land monopolists and other businesses. The farmers formed an alliance and the ‘Populist Party’. Populist Party aimed to increase the amount of money in circulation, repay loans with government assistance, reducing tariffs and a graduated income

28) Dawes Act: This law gave each Indian head of house property to farm eliminating most of the reservations. Indian children were taken east and Americanized.

After the Dawes Act was passed, the Government stripped the tribes of their authority and made it very difficult for each of them to maintain their traditional ways of life. The tribes finally decided that they needed some type of authority. This authority came with land ownership and the allotment of land was the closest to land ownership they were going to get. They all agreed to the Dawes Act by 1902 and forfeited their

In the years leading up to the Indian Removal Act, which was the initial cause of the Trail of Tears, the United States was in a shift. The country was seeing an unrivaled influx of European settlers looking for careers and land. This caused population to skyrocket, in fact in the years 1790-1840, the United States saw a 350% increase in population. In other words, the need for fertile land and viable property was high. At the same time, attempts at assimilation of Indians into American society were proving to be futile. Americans saw the Indians as “noble savages”, who were uncivilized but able to be fit for society if they were converted to Christianity and adopted Anglo-European culture and behavior. With the growing need for land and the rise in tension between Natives and fearful white settlers, something needed to be done in the eyes of the American people. These two things combined is what really set up the foreground for what would become the Indian Removal Act. President Andrew Jackson, in

The encouragement of farming and redistribution of land posed challenges for indigenous people to express their culture. In 1881, Chester A. Arthur said in his message to the Congress that “[m]any of [Native Americans] realize the fact that their hunting days are over” and urged them to “engage at once in agricultural pursuits”. Arthur undermined indigenous culture by discouraging the way Native Americans used land. The Dawes Severalty Act of 1887 also overlooked indigenous culture by distributing land to individual Native Americans, which contradicted their custom of collective landholding; indigenous people had to begin farming as a result of receiving a third of land they originally had. This neglecting of a fundamental facet of indigenous culture disconnected Native

In the period 1865-1900, technology, government policy, and economic conditions all changed American agriculture a great deal. New farming machinery had a large role in the late 19th century, giving farmers the opportunity to produce a lot more crops than they used to. The railroads had an enormous influence on agriculture. They were able to charge the farmers large fees, expenses that farmers barely had enough to cover, in order to transport their goods throughout the expansive country. The booming industry also changed American agriculture, creating monopolies and gaining incredible wealth with which the farmers simply could not compete. Economically, the monetary policy along with the steadily

In the period 1865-1900, technology, government policy, and economic conditions all changed American agriculture a great deal. New farming machinery had a large role in the late 19th century, giving farmers the opportunity to produce many more crops than they had ever been able to previously. The railroads had an enormous influence on agriculture. They were able to charge the farmers large fees, expenses that farmers barely had enough to cover, in order to transport their goods throughout the expansive country. The booming industry also changed American agriculture, creating monopolies and gaining incredible wealth with which the farmers simply could not compete. Economically, the monetary policy along with the steadily dropping prices of

The Gilded Age was characterized by rapid industrialization, reconstruction, ruthless pursuit of profit, government, corruption, and vulgarity (Cashman 1). After the Civil War, America was beginning to regroup as a nation. There were many other changes developing in the country. Industrialization was taking over the formerly agricultural country. The nation’s government was also in great conflict (Foner 20). Many changes occurred during the Gilded Age. These changes affected farmers, labor, business, and politics.

The act consisted of eight sections that defined, in detail, what could be expected. They let him maintain control over the tribes, even though they moved. Five tribes, the Choctaw, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Creeks, and Seminoles, agreed to sign treaties to leave their homes and move west (Copeland 195). However, Andrew Jackson left a few pieces of information out:

The Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, also known as the Wheeler Howard Act or the IRA, had a major impact on the everyday lives of Native American Tribes that were scattered across the United states. The Indian Reorganization Act provided the means and tools for tribes to form their own governments and constitutions. The IRA stopped the general allotment act that was put into effect by the Dawes of 1887. The Indian Reorganization Act granted the Secretary of Interior a tremendous amount of power over Native American affairs ranging from land, livestock, employment, government, etc. According to the reorganization plan, after a tribe or nation voted to accept the IRA, it would draw up a constitution and bylaws, submit it to a referendum,

Gold is the catalyst for numerous events that develop the American economy just before the Civil War. Mankind appears to have a passionate, enduring, and daresay destined obsession with gold and mineral wealth. A gold rush is a force of nature that seems to shake up a culture just as much as an economy. This is evident particularly in early to middle 1800’s America where there is already this grand ideal that divine providence wills for a massive expansion of American territory. The introduction of gold into this equation contributes exponentially to what is by this time a borderline American Revolution in its own right. The American gold rush (or rather the gold rushes) spawn an enormous migration movement that leads to several lasting communities; many of which will eventually become states. The subsequent surge in the country’s economy stirs political and economic discussions nationwide, and an American Middle Class continues to emerge in the rapidly changing antebellum United States. Gold is the facilitator for all of these events (and more) as the American economy grows just before the Civil War.

Five specific groups were especially affected by industrialization: Native Americans, African Americans, children, farmers, and immigrants. Due to federal and state policies, Native Americans were removed from their traditional land into reservations, which were often smaller, more undesirable land. The Dawes Act of 1887, which broke up reservation lands, was ultimately detrimental to Native Americans. Settlers and federal troops pushed the remaining free tribes off their homelands in the Great Plains, and killed most of the buffalo population on which Native Americans relied for survival (The USA online, n.d.).

Long ago on the great plains, the buffalo roamed and the Native Americans lived amongst each other. They were able to move freely across the lands until the white men came and concentrated them into certain areas. Today there are more than five-hundred different tribes with different beliefs and history. Native Americans still face problems about the horrific history they went through and today 's discrimination. The removal of American Indian tribes is one of the most tragic events in American history. There are many treaties that have been signed by American representatives and people of Indian tribes that guaranteed peace and the values of the Indian territories. The treaties were to assure that fur trade would continue without interruption. The American people wanting Indian land has led to violent conflict between the two. Succeeding treaties usually forced the tribes to give up their land to the United States government. There were laws made for Native American Displacement that didn’t benefit the Native Americans, these laws still have long lasting effects on them today, and there was a huge number of Native Americans killed for many reasons.