Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Humanidades.

Departamento de Lenguas
Modernas. Profesorado de Inglés. Historia de Inglaterra y Estados Unidos. Assignment 2.
Deregnaucourt, Agustina; Gomez Coll, Camila; Mieres, Manuel.

American Westward Expansion and its Impact on Native Americans (1830 - 1900)

The Westward Expansion of the United States took place during most of the 19th C.
There are two interrelated concepts that are used to justify the expansion and the American
empire: Manifest Destiny and American Exceptionalism Good starting point!. Manifest
Destiny is a term that was coined by the New York journalist John L. O’Sullivan in 1845.
Following his ideas, occupying all of North America is seen as a divine mission beyond
dispute. (Foner, 2016, p. 478). This concept is closely related to the previous idea of
American Exceptionalism which is defined as “[t]he belief that the United States has a special
mission to serve as a refuge from tyranny, a symbol of freedom, and a model for the rest of
the world” (Forner, 2016, A-47). These beliefs are portrayed in John Gast’s painting
American Progress (1872) in which a God-like figure is bringing light and industrialization to
the West. This period was characterized by a movement of Americans towards the west
territories of the country which were occupied by Indians. The Expansion had a profound
impact on the lands that belonged to the Native Americans. The Indian Removal Act
proclaimed in 1830 provided the funds to move “the Five Civilized Tribes -the Cherokee,
Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole- with a population of around 60,000 living in
North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi.” (Foner, 2016, p. 393). In the
years 1838 and 1839, the Cherokees were forced to march from the area of Georgia to
present-day Oklahoma in what is known as The Trail of Tears. Due to the extremely poor
conditions they were living in, a quarter of the Indians died on the way. Some other tribes
chose to abandon their lands peacefully to avoid confrontation. Another area of conflict was
the Southern part of Texas which was claimed by the US and the Mexican government while
it was controlled by Comanche Indians, eventually being annexed to the United States in
1845. In the case of California, its population was mainly Indian. James Knox Polk, the 11th
president of the United States, offered to purchase the region, but the Mexican government
did not want to negotiate. As a result, in 1846, war unleashed between Mexico and the United
States. The latter won and obtained half a million square miles of Mexico’s territory in which
more than 150,000 Indians lived. In 1848, both countries agreed to the Treaty of Guadalupe
Hidalgo “which confirmed the annexation of Texas and ceded California and present-day
New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and Utah to the United States” (Foner, 2016, p. 484) which
had to pay 15 million dollars to Mexico. During this period, most of the lands owned by
Indians were lost most of the lands they owned, and therefore, the few Native Americans that
remained alive were confined to reservations for Indian people.
Moreover, the Westward Expansion had an impact on Native American’s culture and
identity. The westward expansion led to an overall loss of culture and identity of the Native
american peoples. Such loss can be clearly evidenced in the subjugation of the Plains Indians
in the mid 19th century. As Foner (2011) explains, the incorporation of the west into the
national economy represented the doom for the Plains Indians and their world. To begin with,
Indian’s culture was affected in terms of their economy Perhaps this can be paraphrased. With
the introduction of horses, they had suffered a shift from farming and hunting on foot to
mounted hunting. Their economy was later so affected that, in 1869, Civil War generals like
Philip H. Sheridan destroyed the foundations of villages, horses and buffalos through
methods previously used to defeat the Confederacy. In addition, they were also obliged to
adopt “civilized” ways abandoning their nomadic way of life for communal property, private
ownership and farming on small reservations (Foner, 2011. p. 654). Another aspect of their
culture that was taken away was their political autonomy and control of ancestral lands as
they were forced to surrender most of their territory (Foner, 2011). Their political autonomy
was mainly revoked with the elimination of the treaty system (when?), which considered
Indians as independent nations. Such motion was further supported by both railroad
companies and the republicans, who believed Indian autonomy posed a threat to national
unity. When talking about loss of Indian culture, identity and sovereignty, it is paramount to
mention the “Dawes Act” of 1887. In Foner’s (2011) words, “it was a crucial step in attacking
tribalism” (p. 654). This act divided Indian’s lands into small parcels for Indian families and
the remaining ones were sold to whites. Said act destroyed tribal lands and represented an
erosion of Indian traditions, as the ones who accepted such farms would need to “adopt habits
of civilized life” (Foner, 2011, p. 654) to become American citizens. Finally, Indian culture
was deeply affected religion-wise. In the pursuit of adopting “American” ways, they were
forced to surrender their pagan It is relevant to notice that the term pagan is not neutral and
has been used by Christians for centuries to refer to those belifs and traditions that are not
Christian. traditions to Christianity.
Perhaps one of the aspects of the Westward Expansion that affected Native Americans
the most was the violence that was inflicted on them throughout the 19th century. Ever since
the Trail of Tears in 1838 This is not something to add in your passage but I cannot avoid the
reference to our Quilmes, that were forced onto exile from present-day Tucuman to the
province of Buenos Aires., Indians suffered from all kinds of violence. Indians had to fight
many battles in order to defend themselves and their land, although most of these battles cost
the lives of a great number of Natives. One of the first most relevant wars fought in this
period was during the Mexican War, during the half of the 19th century. After the California
gold rush began, the Indians were constantly attacked until the population was reduced by
80%. This genocide was not only perpetrated by miners, ranchers and vigilantes that wished
to reduce the Indian population, but it was also supported by state officials and hired private
militias, who murdered around 120,000 of California’s Indians (Foner, 2016. p. 489). Another
violet attack Indians had to endure was that commanded by O.O. Howard, in 1877. His army
chased Nez Percé Indians -who were seeking to escape to Canada - for 1,600 miles across the
Far West during four months, until they were forced to surrender to be removed to
Oklahoma. (Foner, 2011. p. 649). In 1890, some Indians joined forces in what is known as the
Ghost Dance campaign. As the number of Native Americans participating in the campaign
was considerable, the government feared an uprising and attacked the reservations, killing
around 200 Indians. However, not all battles were lost for the Native Americans. For
example, in 1876 The Sioux and the Cheyenne effectively defended the land which had been
reserved for them in the Black Hills of Dakota. Another example is depicted in Frederic
Remington’s 1902 painting Custer's Last Charge (A Sabre Charge). According to Sotheby's
the painting “captures Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer, a prominent army
official of the American Indian Wars, during the Battle of the Little Bighorn [1876]”. In the
end, this battle was one of the Indian’s greatest victories in defense of their lands and
freedom. However, the battles won by the Natives were only occasional (Foner, 2011. pg.
651). These many battles led to an exponential reduction of the Native peoples. As Foner
(2011, p. 655) describes “By 1900, the Indian population had fallen to 250,000, the lowest
point in American history”. It is important to highlight that genocide was not the only form of
violence Natives had to endure We can also state that genocide, that is the deliberate killing
of a large number of people from a particular nation or ethnic group, could be carried out in
different ways. Military expeditions is a possibility but forced exodus and deprivation of the
means of subsistance are other effective ways of extermination/ annihilation.. These peoples
were forced to leave their homes and walk for days in inhumane conditions (such as in the
Trail of Tears); their resources were cut off so as to force these inhabitants to leave (as in the
Oregon and California traits); they were forced to leave their families and adopt supposedly
civilized costumes; and they were seen and treated as mere means of entertainment (Foner,
2011. p. 653).
References

Foner, E. (2011) Give me Liberty! An American History. Volumen 2: from 1866. 3rd ed. N &
W Norton & Company.
Foner, E. (2016) Give me Liberty! An American History. Volumen 1: to 1877. Seagul 5th ed.
N & W Norton & Company.
Gast, J (1872) American Progress [Painting]. Retrieved from John Gast, American Progress,
1872. Date retrieved 31/05/2023
Remington, F. (1902). Custer’s Last Charge: A Sabre Charge [Painting]. Sotheby’s.
Retrieved from Custer's Last Charge (A Sabre Charge) | American Art | 2020 |
Sotheby's. Date retrieved 31/05/2023

I liked the way you developed your text, starting from the ideological background and moving
to more concrete actions carried out against the Native American population as the USA
annexed western territories. Perhaps it would have been relevant to examine as well the
contradictions involved in the treatment of Native Americans in the “liberty loving” USA.
Finally, I invite you to reflect upon the treatment received by our indigenous populations in
Argentina, also briefly mentioned by Foner in the video we watched in class. On the whole,
you have done a neat job! Marcela
 Mid Term 2

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