Essay On White Americans

After the civil war ended, White Americans decided upon the expansion across the continent. Although some of the parts were already occupied they went through with it anyways. As they made their way towards the western states of the country, they intruded amongst the Native Americans. Throughout this process the Americans crushed the Native Americans as they created a wavering policy towards them. The first thing the Americans did was force the Natives out their homes and lands. They intruded into areas that knew Native Americans were already living. “By 1880, they had been driven onto smaller and smaller reservations and were no longer an independent people” (p.380). Due to the overtake of the white Americans, native Americans could no longer depend on themselves and “even their culture had crumbled under white denomination” (p.380). The Americans used the advancement of white settlement as one their driving sources to force the natives out of their lands. Most of the tribes were slowly weaned out by torture and violence. “By the 1870’s, most of these tribes had been destroyed or beaten into submission” (P.380). Some of the tribes attempted to fight back but it was not enough. …show more content…
They adjusted them in many ways to live like white Americans. Once the culture became one, the white culture began to deteriate things for the Natives. Since tribes were no longer separate nations, they lost many of their political and judicial functions and many of the chiefs were weakened. In 1887 the Dawes Severalty Act was passed. Due to the little knowledge of the Indians in affirming the land given to them in this act went from 138 million to 48 million. The last and final cause of the crushing of the Natives was the destroying of the buffalo. “The final blow to the tribal life was the virtual extermination of the buffalo, the Plains Indians chief resource of their unique way of life”