US Government and Native Americans

Essay by hsingh86University, Bachelor'sA+, May 2008

download word file, 16 pages 0.0

Anil Bhambi

Susan Murphy

English 205

4 June 2007

Native Americans VS the United States Government

Throughout my education, one of the most common topics that have been discussed is the relationship between the Native Americans and the United States government. Throughout American history, Native Americans have been treated unfairly, never been given any respect, abused and given punishments for being patient and non violent, and today although relationships have gotten better, they still need more improvement. Between 1785 and 1866, over 400 treaties were made with the Indians, and it is fairly well known that every one of them were broken. (Connor, TO) Furthermore, they have been discriminated in every way possible, which includes economic discrimination, political discrimination, criminal justice discrimination, and legal discrimination.

Once the new government was formed of the United States after the Revolutionary War, the founding fathers wanted to create peace with the Native Americans, but this did not happen.

The basic reason as to why this didn't happen is because of the American idea of Manifest Destiny, which basically meant that the United States was destined to expand from the eastern side of the United States of America to the shores of the Pacific Coast on the Western side of the United States of America. As American settlers began to move westward, they took over Indian lands and made settlements. Because of controversy and fighting, the settlers began to request for protection by the government from the Indians. Through this, many Indian tribes and nations began to be forced out of their homes by either force or by broken promised treaties.

There are many ways the government had affected the Indians immensely. From their living styles, to the way they would function in their everyday lives. One way in which the government had negatively...