The Homestead Act
Autor: Tim • January 25, 2018 • 897 Words (4 Pages) • 605 Views
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Some people were turning to the US supreme court. They wanted the status of Native Americans to be revised. Some people believed that Native Americans should be citizens because they are born here. After the supreme court revising their status, they finally came to a conclusion. They declared them not to be citizens or foreigner, but a part of domestic dependent nations. Native Americans were not a sovereign nation either. They were “wards of the US Government, the same thing that happened with African-Americans.
In 1887 congress passed the Dawes Severalty Act. This act split up Indian reservations. Instead them having one big reservation, they had multiple smaller pieces land. The smaller pieces of land were given to some members of the tribe. Usually the father figure of each Native American was given one hundred sixty acres. They did this to encourage Indians to take up farming and live a more American lifestyle. The Government held a trust with the Indian owners. They held the land for 25 years until the Indians proved themselves farmers. If the Native Americans succeeded at farming, then the they could sell the land or keep it. If the Native Americans failed, then the land was taken back by the government and usually sold to White settlers. The Dawes act reduced Indian territory dramatically. It went from 138 million acres to 78 million.
The US government faced a lot of problems with Native Americans. A lot deaths happened because of these problems. The Homestead act had people invade Indian territory, The Dawes act was a way for the government to lessen the amount of territory Indians had. They were also trying to make Native Americans forget their culture and accept the Americans culture.
Works Cited
“Cleveland signs devastating Dawes Act into law." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.
History.com Staff. "Battle of the Little Bighorn." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.
Khomina, Anna. "The Homestead Act of 1862." US History Scene. 10 Apr. 2015. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.
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