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• Conflicts with Native Americans were marked by biases, stereotypes, and prejudices, leading to mistrust and hostility on both sides.

History of Conflict

• Before the Revolution, the British attempted to establish peace with Native Americans by creating the Proclamation Line of 1763 along the Appalachian Mountains.
• The Proclamation Line of 1763 aimed to stop white settlers from moving onto unsettled land belonging to Native Americans.
• The Proclamation forbade white settlers beyond the line, intending to protect Native American lands.
• Many Native Americans sided with the British during the Revolutionary War due to their good relationship.
• After the war, Congress passed the Northwest Ordinance.
• The Northwest Ordinance provided a means for white settlers to acquire land and achieve statehood.
• The Northwest Ordinance incentivized white settlers to move into the Northwest Territory.
• Native Americans, fearing the loss of their land, attacked white settlements in the Northwest Territory.
• The Battle of Tippecanoe in Indiana in 1811 was a major defeat for Shawnee leader Tecumseh and his forces.
• The War of 1812 again pitted the UK and USA against each other.
• Many Native Americans sided with the British during the War of 1812.
• Some Creek and other Native tribes sided with the British and Tecumseh.
• Some Creek Nations sided with the USA.
• Andrew Jackson defeated Creeks allied with the British.
• Conflicts frequently led to lost battles or treaties that were soon broken.
• In 1778, The Delaware Nation entered a treaty with the U.S. government.
• The treaty with the Delaware Nation was broken shortly afterwards.
• In 1794, the Pickering Treaty between the USA and the Iroquois was broken.
• The Pickering Treaty returned 1 million acres to the Iroquois, but this land was later taken back.
• Broken treaties led to high levels of distrust of white settlers by Native Americans.

Efforts to Make Peace

• The Choctaw believed they'd keep their land for siding with the USA during the War of 1812.
• The Cherokee nation adopted European customs in an attempt to preserve their land.
• The Cherokee developed a legal system and government that blended European and Cherokee traditions.
• In 1821, Sequoyah, a Cherokee man, created a writing system for his people.
• Cherokee children learned to read and write, and the Cherokee also published a newspaper.
• Efforts to adopt European ways ultimately failed to prevent conflict.

Native American Removal

• The US government viewed Native Americans east of the Mississippi River as an impediment to westward expansion.
• Initial government policy involved trying to persuade Native Americans to rely less on hunting and more on farming tobacco and cotton.
• Though many Native Americans adopted farming, they remained unwilling to sell their land.

Pressure on Native Americans

• President Monroe proposed moving all Native Americans living east of the Mississippi to land west of the river in 1825.
• Native Americans occupied land seen as good for growing corn, wheat, and raising livestock.
• The Northwest Ordinance gave land to white settlers.
• In the South, Native Americans lived on land ideal for growing cotton.
• Many white settlers arrived with enslaved African Americans.
• White settlers demanded Native Americans be forcibly removed.
• From 1825-1827, the state of Georgia passed laws forcing the Creeks to give up most of their land.
• Previously, laws like this had been struck down by the Supreme Court.
• The ruling stated that only the federal government could acquire land owned by Native Americans, not state or individual entities.

Indian Removal Act

• The Indian Removal Act was proposed by Andrew Jackson.
• In 1830, Congress passed the Indian Removal Act.
• This act authorized the government to seize land from Native Americans in exchange for land west of the Mississippi River.
• At the time of the Act, over 100,000 Native Americans still resided in the east.
• Some people supported the act because they wanted the land for their own.
• Some supported the act to protect Native Americans from conflict with settlers, believing US expansion would halt at the Mississippi.
• Some people opposed removal due to its inherent cruelty and injustice, but they were disregarded.
• The Act resulted in the expulsion of countless Native Americans from their homes.
• In the North, the Ottawa, Potawatomi, Sauk, and Fox signed treaties to move west.
• The Choctaw, Chickasaw, Cherokee, and Seminole resisted but were eventually forced from their homelands.

Indian Removal Act: Results

• Jackson's policy enabled white settlers to move into the South.
• Many white settlers brought slaves with them.
• Today, few Native Americans live east of the Mississippi River.
• Taking away land impoverished Native Americans for generations.
• Many Native traditions ended.

The Choctaw

• The Choctaw agreed to the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek.
• The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek meant ceding tribal land for land west of the Mississippi.
• The Choctaw were offered that they were permitted to stay if they dissolved their tribal organization and agreed to be governed as citizens of Mississippi.
• Some remained, most left.
• 15,000 Choctaw people left to preserve their culture.
• From 1831-1833, the Choctaw travelled west, guarded by American soldiers.
• The government provided insufficient tents, food, blankets, shoes, winter clothes, or supplies during the journey.
• Suffering was immense, with people walking barefoot in snow and ice for 24 hours while exposed to snow and rain.

The Chickasaw

• In 1837, the government agreed to pay the Chickasaw $3 million.
• The Chickasaw, anticipating the payment, spent $500,000 buying land from the Choctaw.
• The US government failed to pay the Chickasaw for 30 years.
• Many Chickasaw died of sickness and disease during their walk to the new land.

The Cherokee

• By 1836, the Cherokee still remained on their land.
• Small groups of Cherokee became citizens of North Carolina, and were allowed to stay.
• Some Cherokee hid in mountain camps.
• President Van Buren forced out anyone who hadn't made agreements to leave.
• During the winter of 1838-1839, the US Army marched over 15,000 Cherokee westward.
• The Cherokee walked several hundred miles over several months to reach Indian Territory.
• Thousands died, mostly children and elderly.
• This forced migration became known as The Trail of Tears.

The Seminole Resist

• The Seminole in Florida resisted removal.
• Led by their chief, Osceola, they began fighting the American Army in 1835, leading to what is known as the Second Seminole War.
• Most Seminole were forced to leave Florida, but some remained.
• In 1855, the USA initiated the Third Seminole War to track down Seminole still in Florida.