Justice And Equality In The 19th Century Essay

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The West created and fostered American individuality and equality by the different ethnic groups that settled in the region. During the 19th century millions of Anglo-Americans, Native Americans, African Americans, Mexicans, South Americans, Europeans, and Chinese immigrant that intermingled migrated West. (p. 817), due to the influx, these groups changed the western growth and civilization. Most of these groups formed their own colonies and created small towns, for example, the African Americans called “Exodusters” they were called this because they were exodus of the South were racism and poverty existed, in 1879 they arrived in Kansas and created their own colony the organizer Benjamin “Pap” Singleton brought 200 colonist and created the …show more content…
For instance, the Chinese were greatly discriminated against being seen as the cause of economic decline, they were withheld citizenship rights, and to compound the injustice Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882 banning immigration from China. However, no abuse was worse than that suffered by the Native American, being constantly made a mockery of by the government with their land being taken, barraged with disease, lack of food and shelter, families separated, constantly at war over things that the government promised but never held true to, and killed with lack of remorse. This very thing happened on November 29, 1864 when a group of Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians were granted a place of safety only to have their men, women, children and elderly brutally murdered by a Colonel John M. Chivington and his militiamen, these men slaughtered, scalped, and mutilated 165 peaceful Indians this horrific atrocity was dubbed “The Sand Creek Massacre” (p. 831-832). These people were promised protection by Governor John Evans for being “friendly Indians” only for that promise not to mean anything and bring about warfare on the Central Plains that lasted the next three years (p. 832).