1.

The government of the United States first signed treaties recognizing the Indians right to
own land. These treaties, most likely Jackson's Indian Removal Act, specified that if the
Indians moved west, then they would be left in peace. The U.S. later broke these treaties
with settlers and soldiers killing "our [the Indian] people and ill-treated them." In 1868,
the Indians' illiteracy was exploited with interpreters deceiving these tribes into becoming
"bound to trade on the Missouri." The most troubling aspect of this conflict was that the
government did nothing to stop it. Despite recognizing the Indian people as a sovereign
nation, the U.S. persistently manipulated these "citizens" into complying with American
demands

2. The farmers are quick to blame others for their problems, yet fail to recognize any of
their own faults. They blame railroad rates for a significant drop in crop profit, which
may or may not be true, but these farmers also overproduce their crops. Farmers never
understood the concept of supply and demand, so as they produced more food, the prices
fell. Banks were also "to blame" for giving out loans with interest, yet farmers were in
fault for taking them out in the first place. When they first moved out west, settlers had
little, if any, tools to begin cultivating the land. To properly begin starting up a farm,
loans had to be made in order to pay for the starting tools. Farmers could scarcely pay
back their debts, causing the economy to become unstable. In response to the economic
panic, companies would raise their prices to maintain a steady income. Farmers may have
many reasons to blame big business for their problems, but the main causes start with
themselves.

3. Many politicians were able to convince themselves that laws permitting separation "do
not necessarily imply the inferiority of either race." If blacks feel inferior as a result of
segregation, it is because "the colored race chooses to put that construction upon it." The
fourteenth amendment only confers granting equal rights to blacks. Separate facilities
don't go against that ideal as long as conditions are equal. The blacks would have no
reason to rebel if they lived in the same environment as the whites. Hypothetically, this
idea should work. Corruption, however, prevent conditions from ever being "equal."

4. The law infringes upon the personal freedom of citizens. Harlan explains that if "white
man and a black man choose to occupy the same public conveyance on a public highway,
it is their right to do so. Furthermore, he states that if a law can be passed separating
citizens based on skin color, why not create more laws based on places of origin or
religion? Harlan is a constitutionalist and believes that the constitution does not, and
should never, know nor tolerate classes among citizens. All citizens are equal before
the law and he laments that the government is limiting the freedom of many on the
basis of race.

5. The complaints of the Native Americans and farmers were due to too little government
action.