Verified Document

Western Experience Term Paper

Western Experience: Native American Displaced to Oklahoma The rumors were true, and I feel like a fool that I had not believed them when I first heard them. They had been talking for years about the possibility that the government would come and take our land, but, like many others, I felt that would not occur if we cultivated the land the same way as the white men. The main objection to our people being in the East had been that were barbaric and uncivilized, so that living like white people would spare us from being treated as subhuman. My family and I settled down to farm our land and we were very successful at it, which made us think that there would be no further efforts to rob us from our land. We had heard so many arguments that the government would want to take land from us because they felt we were using it inefficiently, and, therefore, believed that using it in the same way that the white men use it would keep us from losing our land.

I should have known that it was coming. The history of the white man's involvement in our world has been one of constant strife and barbarity. They have repeatedly taken our land and have not had any problems with killing us to do so. However, this did seem to create a moral issue for many Americans, who wanted to view themselves as good people. "Expansion and Indian removal created some phenomenal problems for the new American nation in terms of its moral character. How can this unique experiment in the new world- this nation that prided itself upon its democratic institutions, force Native American people westward?...

Despite that, since the Treaty of Hopewell in 1785, one could see how American policy towards the native population was becoming more aggressive and that the legal unagreed-to trade of eastern lands for western lands would result in the eventual relocation of all Native American groups to west of the Mississippi (Sherfy, 2003). The government sought to persuade my tribe and other tribes to move voluntarily to the West, but we resisted those efforts, knowing that life in the west would not compare to the life we left. That was not simply speculation; we had seen how smaller groups of Cherokees had fared after accepting a land exchange and moved West in the last 1700s (Sherfy, 2003).
The worst thing is that they try to rationalize their poor treatment of us by suggesting that we are somehow inferior to them. The say that we do not fit into the life east of the Mississippi, so that, for our benefit, we must be moved west. However, many of us lived successfully in the East. We are described as uncivilized but, as a member of the Cherokee nation, I was more likely to be literate than a white person in the South through the end of the Civil War, yet they considered us uncivilized in comparison to whites (Edmunds, 2006).

Perhaps the most frustrating thing to me is how much governmental support there is for this policy. Very few people consider the negative implications of this movement, implications that go far beyond the impact on people like me who are forced…

Sources used in this document:
References

Edmunds, R.D. (2006, March 14). "Native American displacement amid U.S. expansion."

Prelude to War: Manifest Destiny. Retrieved March 15, 2012 from PBS Website

http://www.pbs.org/kera/usmexicanwar/prelude/md_native_american_displacement.html

Sherfly, M. (2003). "Indian removal." Dictionary of American History. Retrieved March 15,
2012 from Encyclopedia.com website: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3401802044.html
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Western Australia's Department of Education Duty Care
Words: 1034 Length: 3 Document Type: Essay

Western Australia's Department Of Education Duty Care Policy Statement Western Australia's Department of Education Duty of Care Policy Statement Teachers have a duty to care for their students. In order to ensure that teachers are responsible and held accountable for an appropriate level of care for their students, teachers in Western Australia have to follow the tenants of the Western Australia's Department of Education Duty of Care Policy Statement. The document provides

Western Sahara Conflict in the
Words: 8710 Length: 32 Document Type: Research Proposal

Which historians Yahia Zoubir and Daniel Volman describe this way: At the same time, they [the Judges] are in accord in providing indications of a legal tie of allegiance between the Sultan and some, though only some, of the tribes of the territory, and in providing indications of some display of the Sultan's authority or influence with respect to those tribes." For the court to have found in the favor of

Western Religion
Words: 6937 Length: 21 Document Type: Term Paper

Western Religion In his book, "Western Ways of Being Religious," (Kessler, 1999) the author Gary E. Kessler identifies the theological, philosophical and societal ramifications of the evolution of religion in the West. Christianity, Judaism and Islam can be traced to a single origin but their divergence has been very marked. Kessler sets his thesis very early in the book. He avers that there are two approaches to religion. One is to

Western Ethical Theories
Words: 1246 Length: 4 Document Type: Research Paper

Western Ethical Theories The objective of this work is to examine Western Ethical theories including teleological, deontological, natural law, and interest view and virtue ethics. The work of Bennett-Woods (2005) states that while the words 'ethics' and 'morality' are "often used interchangeably, morality is more precisely used to refer to the customs, principles of conduct and moral codes of an individual, group or society." Ethics, is also stated to be termed "moral

Western Culture Clash Creates Roadblocks Western Companies
Words: 1066 Length: 3 Document Type: Case Study

Western Culture Clash Creates Roadblocks Western Companies Imposing Western Culture Western Culture Clash Creates Roadblocks for Disneyland Paris Disneyland Paris failed to incorporate French cultural norms and values into the development of the European Disney theme park. By analyzing French tourism behavior, bringing French executives into the decision-making process, and respecting the value provided by French investors, Disneyland Paris would have experienced more stable growth and greater local acceptance. The French people, known

Western Civilization the World Has Always Progressed
Words: 2314 Length: 7 Document Type: Term Paper

Western Civilization The world has always progressed through those adventurous in spirit that were not afraid to brake barriers, to confront established rules and to keep seeking new territories, be it in the fields of science, religion, law, or the physical world. The period of Renaissance that started and flourished in Italy and then spread throughout the rest of the continent changed world views and challenged the traditional at every level.

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now