How did the US deal with the native Americans?

Introduction: Before Christopher Columbus came, the Native Americans had been living in America for 15.000 years. It is believed that the Native Americans imigrated from Asia and then slowly occupied North America. They had to adjust to different kinds of enviroment and each tribe developed their own religious beliefes, technology, and government.

Spread of White Power in America

• French & Basque came to America after Columbus
• Friends with Native Americans
• Trading furs from minx, muskrat, beaver
• Spread catholic religion (built Churches)
• Built Quebec in the North
• English & French settlements spread rapidly
• English – Native Americans : first friends (marriages ex. Pocahontas)
• Natives: changed their traditional ways: crops growing, European clothing, cooking of pots- pans, haunting with guns, raising of chickens and horses, growing of fruits like: peaches and apples
• English learned: embroidery, buckskin clothes, belts, moccasins, hats
• Spanish + English- allies in the struggle of spreading European power (power of the white people)
• Aggression
• Military forces
• Indians: driven out or murdered
• Also suffered from fast spreading European deceases

After the Civil War:

· White people felt like bosses

· Wanted to expand the boarders to get more inhabitants from Europe

· Built more cities while suppressing friendly Native Americans to move further and further away

· Built reservations for Native Americans to live in

· Reservations got smaller and smaller – New Americans expansion

Reason for European explorations

Europe had entered the renaissance, which encouraged exploration and colonization. Interest for geography and learning greatly increased. Head of states all over Europe wanted their country to have the greatest wealth and land mass. A richer middle class made a new market for luxury items such as spices, cloth and slaves.

What happened to the Native Americans:

First the Europeans put the Native Americans in the Great American Desert so that they could keep on expanding the US. Then the Gold rush started and the Europeans took away more and more land from the Native Americans. In the end the American Government told the Native Americans to give up all their land. When the Native Americans refused a war broke out. Then the Europeans forced the Native Americans out of their land by first killing the buffalos (which were the Native Americans’ biggest source of food) so that the Native Americans would starve, and then they forced them to live in reservations. In the Reservations 50% of the Native Americans died in 45 years.

Why did this happen:

First of all the Europeans wanted to expand the US and they needed the Native Americans’ land. The Europeans had a great feeling of nationalism, lust for wealth and desire to spread their religion. They did not understand the Native Americans and the Native Americans did not understand the Europeans, this caused many of the conflicts between the two.

By: Natalija, Elaha, Magdalena, Anna, Cesar, Madeleine