A Brief Summary of Native American Conflict

In the early 1800’s, the United States was rapidly growing. They quickly took ownership of land they found and grew crop to further develop their economy. Although land was abundant, the settlers encountered a problem; the land was home to five Indian Nations: the Cherokee, Seminole, Choctaw, Creek and Chicasaw. The need to grow crop and expand their country, made settlers pressure the government to take the Indian territories. Andrew Jackson commanded the US military in 1814 and wiped out a colony of Creek Nation Indians; winning millions of acres in Georgia and Alabama. This continued with other Indian colonies resulting in the acquirement of millions more acres of land by 1818.

Andrew Jackson then negotiated nine treaties between 1814 and 1824. The treaties promised they will not be harmed if they agreed to settle in a designated piece of land and surrender their remaining land to the United States. The US now owned land in Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky and North Carolina. This continued for years and when the Indians rebelled, they were massacred. With their homes being taken and their people being killed and threatened, the Native Americans continued to fight back. They tried both peaceful and violent means of fighting back, but in 1827 the Cherokee took advantage of a constitution declaring them to be a sovereign nation. This allowed them to cede their land. The Indians of course found themselves having problems with the settlers who did not want to abide by their constitution, which resulted in a tougher situation.    

Through out this entire time the Native Americans were never recognized as American citizens well up into the mid twentieth century. It wasn’t until two years after World War II that Native Americans in the United State were finally granted citizenship. The fact that Native Americans only recently gained the rights to be American Citizens makes what we read in class to be far more relevant. Although the old west is not as it was dozens of years ago, the conflict between the Non-Native Americans and the Native Americans still exist.