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The Debate Over The Native Americans Essay

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During the early to mid 1800 's the U.S. was deeply entrenched in a debate over the Native Americans living in Georgia. The somewhat newly formed United States had been pushing westward since its inception and continually ran into Native Americans already occupying the territory. Georgia along with other states had passed a series of treaties with the Natives to decide these land disputes but conflict still arouse. Many settles pushed for the federal government to make a final decision and remove the natives from these lands which sparked the debate about the natives. The debate came down to two sides those believe it was a matter of human rights and those who believed it was about economics. William Penn makes several arguments about their rights one of them is "The right of Indians to Lands in their actual and peaceable possession, and to such form of government as they choose, has been admitted by whites". As the U.S. had stated the natives had their right to this land they had held for centuries. Now since it had already been established these rights could not simply be taken away. The opposition would be contradicting themselves according to Penn, if they were to force the natives to leave. It would go against all past policy and diplomacy one point Penn is saying would be unjust. William Penn went on to say "These rights of soil and sovereignty are inherent in the indians". The human rights these people were arguing for is the right of self determinate. Just as the

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