|
The Indian Wars were a series of long-running conflicts between the government and military (regular and
irregular) of the United States and the Native American peoples of North America. However, the name is misleading as it suggests that the
Native Americans were a unified bloc fighting against the United States. In actuality, they were a diverse collection of tribes
and clans, often with divergent interests. This lack of unity contributed to the eventual collective defeat of the native
peoples.
Colonial-Era Indian Wars
These are wars fought by Native Americans with colonizing powers
in the future territory of the United States before the Declaration of Independence. See also: European colonization of the
Americas.
Earliest conflicts (1776-1794)
Although conflict with Native American tribes in North America had occurred frequently for the British colonies, the first
major conflicts with Native Americans occurred in the 1790s. A series of Native American
insurrections against the United States led to victories against isolated armies in the early 1790s, in part due to the large
coalition formed between various tribes. However, the Native Americans were decisively defeated by a large U.S. army at the
Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794, and their villages and crops were razed. They were forced to sign the Treaty of Greenville, which ceded modern-day Ohio to the
United States. Although the conflict was initiated by Native Americans, many who believe in the imperialist and expansionist
nature of the United States during this period point to it as the first step in a cycle of conquest and territorial displacement
that led to the near-destruction of the native peoples of North America.
During the later 1790s, American settlers began to flood into the Western United
States. Without unified leadership, the Indian groups began to crumble apart and moved farther and farther west. Although
publicly the ascendent Jeffersonian party of the era condemned the destruction of the Indians, there was a strong anti-Indian
sentiment. As early as 1780, Thomas Jefferson himself, acting as governor of Virginia,
wrote that "If we are to wage a campaign against these Indians the end proposed should be their extermination, or their removal
beyond the lakes of the Illinois River. The same world would scarcely
do for them and us."
Post-Greenville conflict with Native Americans (1794-1812)
After the Treaty of Greenville, white settlers quickly
rushed in to settle territory reserved for the Native Americans
under the terms of the treaty. Many Native American groups in the region were weakened by diseases brought by the whites; others
were persuaded to "sell" the land for trinkets, claiming to speak for a whole tribe of Indians, who would then be forced off the
land.
Resistance to this process which was slowly eating away at the Native American community of the region was led by the Shawnee warrior Tecumseh
and his brother Tenskwatawa ("The Prophet"). They encouraged a purification of the Native American
culture, specifically avoiding alcohol and extensive contact with whites, in
order to hold on to their land.
The War of 1812
The War of 1812, described as some as the "Second American Revolution,"
was a conflict in the early 19th century between the young United States and the United Kingdom in a struggle for a degree of respect and a recognition of sovereignty from mother to
daughter country.
Many Native American groups sided with the British in Canada, giving the United
States a direct cause for war against them. Tecumseh, after taking his followers
into Canada, was killed by future President
of the United States William Henry Harrison,
effectively ending the dream of a unified Native American resistance against the United States.
The War of 1812 also led to a strong surge of nationalism in the 1810s and 1820s which some point to as one of the causes of the intensification of relocation and slaughter
of Native Americans during the period.
Indian removal (1812-1860)
After the War of 1812, the United States government began to focus on developments at home. During this period, one of the key
national questions was that of Indian policy. There was no question that Indian removal would take place; but the method and
rationale for the removal was a subject of controversy. President Thomas Jefferson argued that "civilized" Native Americans should be allowed to stay as United States
citizens. However, during the Presidency of James Monroe and beyond, it
became clear that white settlers would stop at nothing short of total removal, "civilized" or not. In the South especially, settlers clamored for the removal of Indians so
that they could take their lands.
During this era, several presidents were elected at least in part because of their success in removing or killing Native
Americans: Andrew Jackson, William Henry Harrison, and Zachary
Taylor are several.
Indian Removal Act of 1830
Jackson was responsible for the notorious Indian Removal Act of
1830, and thus the Trail of
Tears, in unconstitutional defiance of a Supreme Court ruling.
In 1829, American demand for land due to population growth and the discovery of gold on Cherokee land led to pressure on Native American lands. In 1830, Congress passed the Indian Removal Act that Jackson signed into law. The act was challenged
successfully by the Cherokee Nation in 1832 in the US Supreme Court as Worcester v.
Georgia, in 1832. Despite the Supreme Court decision, Jackson took no action to uphold the Court verdict, and in fact would
openly defy it; he was quoted as saying "John Marshall has made his
decision, now let him enforce it!" As the court has no executive powers to enforce its decisions, Jackson's executive disregard
of the court marked a time when the Judicial branch of government was very weak.
It is worth noting that Jackson may well not have wanted to displace the Indians, but instead felt that circumstances left him
with little recourse. Supreme Court rulings aside, permitting the Indians to remain would likely have lead to their displacment
or destruction at the hands of local whites. Jackson's only other two options beside the Indian Removal Act were to deploy troops
to protect the Indians -- politically untenable and militarily unfeasible -- or to simply kill all the Indians, which was morally
repugnant.
The state of Georgia held two land lotteries in 1835 to divide the Cherokee land, and Jackson sent military support to oust
the Native population. This led to what is now known as the "Trail of
Tears", which killed roughly four thousand Cherokee (25%), en route to Oklahoma.
The Northwest: Black Hawk War
Without support from their British allies, the Indians of the Ohio Valley and Northwest region were pushed west of the Mississippi River by the federal government through a series of imposed treaties. The major resistance to
relocation in this region was the Black Hawk War in 1832. However, the combined forces of Sauk and Fox tribes failed to prevent the land from United States annexation. The
Battle of Bad Axe
marked the end of the Black Hawk War after the Indians were crushed by Colonel Zachary Taylor's forces.
Territorial expansion in the 19th century
To be incorporated
- Apache and
Navajo Wars (1861-1886) After Col. Christopher "Kit" Carson kills or relocates many Apache to reservations in 1862,
skirmishes between the U.S. and Apaches continue until 1886, when Geronimo
surrenders.
- Red Cloud's War (1866 - 1868) Lakota chief Makhpyia luta (Red Cloud) conducts the most successful
war against the U.S. during the Indian Wars. By the Fort Laramie Treaty, the U.S. granted a large reservation to the Lakota,
without military presence or oversight, no settlements, and no reserved road building rights. The reservation included the entire
Black Hills.
- Sand Creek Massacre -- John Chivington kills almost 150 surrendered Cheyenne
and Arapaho Indnians
- Modoc War - (1872 - 1873) - 53 Modoc warriors under Captain Jack hold off 1000 men of the U.S. Army for 7 months. Major General
Edward Canby was killed during a peace confrence, becoming the only
general to be killed during the Indian Wars.
- Red River War (1874-1875)
between Comanche and U.S. forces under the command of William Sherman
and Lt. Gen. Phillip Sheridan
- Black Hills War (1876 -
1877) - Lakota under Tatanka Iyotake (Sitting Bull) and Tasunka witko (Crazy Horse) fight the U.S. after repeated violations of the Fort
Laramie Treaty.
- Massacre of Wounded Knee (December 28, 1890) Tatanka Iyotake and some 200
Sioux are killed by the U.S. 7th
Cavalry.
See also
- Military history of the United States#Indian Conflicts, Wars, Battles, Expeditions and
Campaigns
|