1.1 US government policy towards the Plains Indians Flashcards
When and what was the Indian Removal Act?
1830 - forces Indians in the eastern state to move west of the Mississippi river
what was the significance of the Indian removal act?
46,000 eastern Indians gave up their land in return for new land, west of the Mississippi River - at this time, whites saw this land as worthless, it was called the “Great American desert”
What did President Jackson promise as part of the Indian removal act?
that they would never give up this new land, known as Indian Territory and that they would be protected from Plains Indians tribes who already lived there and from white settlers
when and what was Indian trade and intercourse act?
1834
sets out the Permanent Indian frontier between the USA and Indian territory.
Forts guarded the frontier to stop white settlers crossing over to settle in Indian territory.
prevented the sale of any guns or alcohol to American Indians by white traders
What caused westward expansion?
which land in the west did the USA gain and what were the dates
1845- Texas officially became part of USA
1846 - the USA had also gained control over its territory in Oregon country
1848- the USA won a war with Mexico, as a result, it gains huge territories in the West (such as California).
What was the consequence of the westward expansion in terms of the positioning of Indian territory?
Indian territory was now sandwiched in the middle of the USA instead of dividing Indian land in the west from white land in the East
Why did the US policy start to change?
because the US government wanted US citizens to move into its new territories in the west and people needed to be able to travel safely across Plains Indian lands
the government used its army to force Plains Indians to move away from the trails and stop them attacking the travellers
when and what was the Indians appropriations act?
1851 - money allocated for setting up american Indian reservations in modern day Oklahoma
what was the significance of the Indians appropriations act ?
By the 1850s, white Americans wanted to use parts of the lands in the West that had been given to Indians.
The government paid Indians to give up lands that whites wanted and move to smaller areas.
this kept whites and Indians apart and on the reservations, Plains Indians could be taught how to farm and live like white Americans.
