Western Expansion On Native Americans Essay

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Impact of Westward Expansion on Native Americans and the Role of Government In the years 1860-1890, there were many events that allowed people to move west. For example, the belief of Manifest Destiny made people from the east want to move over to the west. Also, the Homestead Act encouraged people to move west because if they did, they would gain 160 acres of land. Because of events like these, the lives of Native Americans had to change. Western Expansion drastically changed the lives of Native Americans by forcing them to assimilate, tampering with Indian Territory, and by making Native Americans suffer. The government tried to get Native Americans to assimilate the White man's culture and beliefs by changing their lifestyle. The government tried to make the younger generation of Indians go to school, and learn the English language. The schools that they were forced to attend did not allow any language other than English to be spoken, and forced Indian boys to cut their hair. The government also wanted the Indians to settle on one piece of land, so they started to build houses…show more content…
Indians were killed and were left out in the cold. For example, the Sand Creek Massacre showed that innocent tribes of Indians were killed for no reason. A troop of soldiers led by Colonel Chivington attacked a camp of friendly Indians and massacred many of them . The majority of the camp was filled with women, children, and infants, and Chivington allowed his troops to mutilate them in a horrible manner. Another example is the Nez Perce War. The Nez Perce were left in the cold with no food and no blankets, and they had to surrender . Chief Joseph said, “My people, some of them have run away to the hills and have no blankets, no food; no one knows where they are – perhaps freezing to death.” This shows that Indians had to suffer because they were in very harsh conditions when they just wanted to live in

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