Shireling
A Servant of King and Country
The American relationship with the Indians was a lot more complex that you would be led to think. Firstly, the "we took their land" argument doesn't hold water. When Europeans arrived at the east coast, Indian tribes lived on and cultivated probably less than 1% of the geographical mass of North America. Why should these European countries with burgeoning populations barely fed by their whole agricultural effort, not settle in America on some of the near infinite land that the Indians weren't using?
And as much as whites get a bad rap for committing atrocities against the natives, it was fairly common for Indian raiding parties to pillage farms and butcher families. I would say that both sides were equally invested in bloodshed, and that the concept of the peaceful Indian is woefully mythical. Another point of contention, I don't necessarily belief that the Europeans purposefully gave the Indians smallpox. At least not in the colonial era. These are a people who have no concept of germ theory, I don't think they honestly thought they could purposefully spread pestilence.
As for the actions of the US government, the policies of the Jackson administration were the most egregious and Jackson himself is a villanous figure with a few large redeeming qualities. Overall, the intention of the American people was typically towards "civilizing" the natives and making them fit for a modern, Christian society. There were of course interests, especially the railroads, that wanted the Indian problem dealt with and the Indians did themselves no favors by earning a bloodthirsty reputation. The idea of a violent Indian population didn't just appear out of thin air.
And as much as whites get a bad rap for committing atrocities against the natives, it was fairly common for Indian raiding parties to pillage farms and butcher families. I would say that both sides were equally invested in bloodshed, and that the concept of the peaceful Indian is woefully mythical. Another point of contention, I don't necessarily belief that the Europeans purposefully gave the Indians smallpox. At least not in the colonial era. These are a people who have no concept of germ theory, I don't think they honestly thought they could purposefully spread pestilence.
As for the actions of the US government, the policies of the Jackson administration were the most egregious and Jackson himself is a villanous figure with a few large redeeming qualities. Overall, the intention of the American people was typically towards "civilizing" the natives and making them fit for a modern, Christian society. There were of course interests, especially the railroads, that wanted the Indian problem dealt with and the Indians did themselves no favors by earning a bloodthirsty reputation. The idea of a violent Indian population didn't just appear out of thin air.
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