How did the Five Civilized Tribes lose control of their territory to whites and the federal government?
As Clifton, (2017) explicitly dictates, the first usage of the term unassigned land came into existence in the late stages of the 1880s, when descriptions regarding a central area that was abandoned in the central part of the Indian territory had existed without any ownership but rather proclaimed by the government. The Indians had been dominant as the native American citizens, which gave them priority of settling in different parts of the nation they desired. Seemingly, the central part of the Indian land was unallocated, to any Indian territory, and this paved a chance of exploration of the land by the white settler. The “Unassigned land” existed in a boundary of the territories within the Indian tribes, with the Cherokee outlet bordering it on the northern by a treaty signed in 1828 (Zinn, 2015). “The Chickasaw Nation, established in 1837 adjoined the land. The Cheyenne and Arapaho Reservation, established in 1867 bordered the 1,887,796.47 acres, of property” (Clifton, 2017). With the increased need of colonization and establishment of a formal government by the whites, slowly they encroached the land that for decades was left undisturbed. Moreover, this would give rise to the revolutionaries of civilization in the entire nations through the use of the unassigned land, leading to the loss of land for the five civilized tribes.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Zinn, (2015) conglomerates that, the signing of the Cherokee and other related tribes in the southern part of the territories paved the way for the opening of the unassigned land. The removal act signed by President Jackson in 1830 gave abduction of the Indians explicitly of their land, with a different reason as a way of securing national interests of the state. The act expressly dictated that no State could achieve cultural, progress and civilization as long as the Indians remained through the boundaries. Through this, it was clear that the Indians were termed as the enemy of civilization and cultural values to cultivate national growth. Through this, the act permitted the federal government to negotiate with the five civilized tribes, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Seminole, Choctaw and (Muskogee)-Creek to make a strategic move west of Mississippi river, as a way of diplomatic exchange of their land and homes. More so, the United States government considered that since most of the tribes were farmers, riverbanks will serve them a great purpose not only to them but also to their cattle.
The Cherokee, tribe offered a reasonable step in trying to reason with the United States government through the use of signing treaties that will help them retain the land they had lived in for generations and decade. They believed that their ancestral rooting would be abandoned if they had to migrate from the land they had inherited from their ancestors. When diplomatic approaches seized to work, the US government had to adopt a different mechanism to ensure that the Indians had to leave the land to the promised land. In the spring of 1838, the US government matched with the troops to the Cherokee tribe, forcing them to evacuate their land. Many of them died as a result of the long distance they had to walk due to the lack of basic needs such as food and clothing in the hush journey they made. As a result, few of them made to the last destination as sickness and foods of poor quality characterized the journey. Never the less, those who died in the journey were thrown in unmarked graves making them brand the journey as “The trail of tears” (Clifton, 2017).
When the Cherokee, finally arrived at their final destination, a new chapter unfolded before them, as their cultural values and ways of farming were altered based on the open landscape, they found. They found the place less fertile and productive as opposed to the government’s description of the land to be fertile and rich in agricultural practice. Through this, the Cherokee community had to work out for different possible ways of getting food. As a result, the adoption of wild food soon became part of their diet as a way to supplement their meals. However, this resulted in food poisoning as most of them were wiped out by the wild fruits that they had not used prior, which contributed to illness and high mortality rates.
In 1831, the Choctaws moving from the north were to be assembled at Memphis and Tennessee. On the other hand, those from the south were to be assembled at Vicksburg, where awaited wagons waited for transporting them to the West. The Choctaws tribe were allowed to gather crops a few weeks before the actual journey commenced. Through this, they would use the crops to supplement their firming as a way of generating food and other substantial needs they could need in their new land.
Among the Five Civilized Tribes, the Chickasaw suffered minimally as they entered in an agreement with the US government on the basis of migration. As a result, the American government was forced to buy them land after reaching upon an understanding that benefits the tribe. Through this, the tribe was willing to evacuate the place and settle in their new place that will soon be termed as their new home. Never the less, they were privileged in making an agreement that would benefit them financially and economically as the chosen place was favorable for firming that supported their economic activity.
The government used a different approach as a way of ensuring this tribe was satisfied with the moving. First, the government used the approach of moving a third of the total population which helped reduce the possibilities of resistance and defiance. Once the first wave was moved, the government had to restructure again on the sending the second wave nearly after a year. This helped to endure that the community who were already moved to the new land had settled and would encourage others to leave the place. The Seminoles staged a dramatic scene on different occasions where their migration was marked with a series of war between them and the US government over the abduction of their land. As a result, the government was forced to taking different and stuns measures of curbing the situation. The government decided to use the ships as a way of transporting the Seminoles tribe to their destination, as transporting them through water would reduce the rate of resistance. As Zinn, (2015) points out, this made it difficult for them to trace and make their way back home.
The Creek Indians who had occupied Georgia as well as the modern-day state’s land of Alabama for hundreds of years we also evacuated from their settlement at a bayonet point by the US government, following the resistance they had portrayed. The Creek Indians and the Whites war in 1813- 1814, this had brought about a hostile relationship between the two. The wars caused the Creek a fortune as it stripped them hundreds of thousands of acres of land. Never the less, the end of the war opened a new chapter of pressure that forced the Creek people to abandon their native land.
The reasons for opening the Unassigned Lands and how did people go about settling this territory?
The Dawes Commission was established with the purpose of enforcing the General Allotment Act and came into place in 1887. The accord convinced the tribes to cede their land to the united states and divide the remaining land into individuals. The Act passed in 1898, targeted five civilized tribes that had acquired enormous land over the centuries. The land had been communally owned by the tribe, who share all the resources as a single entity amongst the community members. Curtis Act enforced legal laws that forced them to accept allotment as well as registering in the Dawes Rolls. The main aim was to keep track of the Indians while efforts were made to incorporate the Indian people into the white culture of the American society.
The United States government wanted to spread the rate of civilization more than the five civilized tribes had gone beyond. As a result, the government wanted to control the population of the native Indians in the nation. With the use of the unassigned land used as the concentration camps, where the tribes could be allocated new lands. The camps were made of thousands of hundreds of tents where different Indian tribes were concentrated before the government gave them the land. Never the less, the government issued different strategic plans that come with the Indian blood, where privileges were tied together with the Indian blood relation. As a result, this triggered a higher number of Indians to cooperate as a way of receiving the benefits associated with their blood relations.
The whites had improved agricultural, and ranching techniques where they opted that their interest and agricultural practices could be easily conducted under a conducive atmosphere. However, these essential factors they needed for their economic growth were unevenly distributed to a few communities in the nation, which included only the Indian tribes that used them for self-gain. As a result, the decision to evacuate them by the use of the unallocated land, became possible, where they could be moved from the natural resources helping to benefit the majority in the nation.
Steps used in settling the territories
The 1889 proclamation ink was hardly dry from president Harrison’s declaration of colonies formed in major cities of the United States. The run for a piece of settlement attracted thousands of hundreds of Americans ranging from different levels of the nation. This included a multitude of farmers, tradesmen, common laborer, capitalist as well as professional men who were in the zeal to settle the unassigned lands.
Establishment of the new railway was one of the significant factors that contributed to the swift movement of easy land distribution. Through this, citizens who were ready to have a piece of cake from the American soil used the interconnected railway station that had been slowly integrated into the land developing a good interconnection network of the railways. Through this, it could be more comfortable for the settlers to ferry their belongings to their final destination, once they had allocated the land, they were lucky to acquire. Most of the individual who could not saddle opted for the train as a better and convenient way of showing their fight.
Once the settlers reached their ideal piece of plot, they were to mark it as a way of showing occupancy, of the territory. However, the resulted in multiple conflicts amongst the settlers in plot ownership. There were numerous cases regarding dual ownership of the plot. Some cases were locally solved, with giving propriety to first come first serve bases, which helped determine who the actual and legal owner of the plot is. However, some cases were difficult to resolve, with nearly 5,000 cases emanating from the Oklahoma land run and a dozen solved by the supreme court of the United States as a way of showing transparency to the Americans and the judiciary.
As Clifton, (2017) concludes, president Benjamin Harrison declared the opening of the unassigned land for the white settler in 1889. The aim was to give the whites a virginal land that they could extensively cultivate and as well as setting up their cattle ranches that would promote the growth of the national economy. Under the Homestead Act established in 1862, settlers were entitled to the acclaim of 160 acres of public land, where they could receive the title of the land after settling and leaving there for five years. This ensured that there was a proper control of territory in settle, as the government could guarantee an appropriate distribution of land between the settlers and the whites. Never the less, this helped the government to take control of the young nation in resource allocation and distribution. Moreover, the settlers were entitled to ensure that it was their collective responsibility of taking care of the allocated land.
Unlocated land paved the way for boomer’s invasion from the European nations such as Ireland, England and the French were among the first settlers who benefited from the land allocation. Never the less, the spread of the Indian tribes was now curbed fully, as they were integrated to the civilization of the nation as well as participating in the national affairs as a way of unity promotion between the parties.
Zinn, (2015) explicitly suggest that one of the main ideas was to ensure that the Indians do not go back to their native Indians as they were congested in their new homes. Moreover, this ensured that their land was precisely used by the settlers and other whites in the nation. In addition to the above, the reason for opening the unassigned land was to reduce the negativity growth that had prevailed between the Indians and the United States government, where they were perceived as using the decisive skills of robbing the Indians their territories. However, this was a step to bring back unity between the government and the Indians by ensuring the land was evenly distributed. On the same token, the government used a free and open mechanism of allocating the land, despite the conditions posted by the federal government regarding the acquisition of the land, the government ensure that the exercise was free and fair from corruption or any biases.
Conclusion
The enacted signed treaty in 1830 that gave the US government the mandate of evacuating the Indian tribes was the primary source that led to a better allocation of the Oklahoma scheme. Through the use of the unassigned land with the establishment of the concentration camps, it made it possible for Indian tribes such as the Chickasaw to agree worth the government giving them a chance to choose a better place as their new home. On the other hand, the exercise was not an easy one especially to the US government as well as other Indian tribes such as Seminole who had to put up a fight with the government before their evacuation. In the bottom line, this helped to integrate the Indians in the American community as well as contributing in national affairs.
References
Clifton, J. A. (2017). The invented Indian: Cultural fictions and government policies . Routledge.
Zinn, H. (2015). A people's history of the United States: 1492-present . Routledge.
