Dawes Act Dbq

Would you destroy countless homes in the name of God? The “Manifest Destiny” – a belief that God wanted the nation to expand industrialization from sea to shining sea, led whites westward. Native Americans primarily lived in the West at the time, causing a lot of conflict because of the land where whites were settling was Native American soil. Senator Henry Laurens Dawes, the creator of The Dawes Act wanted to give both whites and Native Americans land to settle in the West. Though this sounds like a noble negotiation, The Dawes Act of 1887 was an unjustified decision among the United States. Native Americans did not have a say in the Act, it also altered their way of life negatively. If only the United States had found better and less corrupt ways to handle how land was divided, then we could’ve more efficiently preserved their culture. Native Americans had little to no rights during this time, thus had no say in whether the Act could be put into place or not, for the Native Americans could not …show more content…
The United States had tricked the Native Americans into a way of life that they didn’t know how to manage, and was completely unlike their culture. Native Americans were taken advantage of in every way due to their lack of literacy, weaponry, and the clashing lifestyles with white society. Many other actions could have been taken to reason between Native Americans and whites besides the Dawes Act, yet the greed of industrialization and ignorance among people settling out west caused the depletion of more and more Native Americans and their culture. Think of how different society could have been, with the appreciation of Native American culture. More reservations would be in existence to visit, a better understanding and gratitude towards their culture, and being able to sleep at night knowing that people can overcome their differences without the need for unnecessary

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Dawes Act Dbq Analysis