United States Government Quotes
1st. That they will withdraw all opposition to the construction of the railroads now being built on the plains. 2nd. That they will permit the peaceful construction of any railroad not passing over their reservation as herein defined. 3rd. That they will not attack any persons at home, or travelling, nor molest or disturb any wagon trains, coaches, mules, or cattle belonging to the people of the United States, or to persons friendly therewith. 4th. They will never capture, or carry off from the settlements, white women or children. 5th. They will never kill or scalp white men, nor attempt to do them harm.
United States, Sioux Indian Tribe, Fort Laramie Treaty, Between The United States & The Sioux Indians, Items the Indians Agreed to Stop Therafter, 1868
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
Many American leaders wanted to comply with and enforce the Indian treaties, but the remoteness made it difficult. There were always those whites who did not want to be restricted by Indian treaties who took advantage of the situation when there was a leader like Clinton who wanted to enforce the treaties. However in many cases, the American leadership really did not want to enforce the treaties and in some cases, as with President Andrew Jackson, wanted to abrogate the treaties with the Indians.
“Cleaned out” meant destroyed. He had been a strong advocate of peace with whites. See {610679} .
More and more whites had been encroaching on land of the Chickasaw Reservation which the United States was bound to protect. However, soldiers fighting whites was politically unpalatable and the Government came up with the idea of providing land West of the Mississippi as a new reservation in exchange for the existing reservation. The Indians expenses of moving would be paid and they would be given generous provisions in the new lands. The U. S. negotiators were surprised when the translator for the Chickasaw negotiators made this speech which was then reported to the President and Congress. Andrew Jackson was strongly in favor of Indian Removal and he had forced other tribes out of their lands. Eventually the Government upped the ante and agreed to pay the Chickasaw the large sum of $3 million to move and they Chickasaw realized that if they did not accept, they would be removed as other tribes had been, The promised payment was delayed over Congressional arguments over appropriations but eventually the Chickasaw were paid.
This quotation is interesting in that the Madison Administration was being very careful to not alienate the Indians in Federal land purchases. Although there are many who believe the whites never should have enticed Indians to sell land at all, there were many cases where the land sales were fraudulent and gross—The Cherokee Indians in Georgia. At this time, the Federal government would negotiate an amount for some land and pay the Indian tribe the agreed upon sum. Then another tribe might claim that the land was really theirs, they had also been hunting or living there. In some cases there were Indian wars and one tribe had banished another. Madison’s policy which he reported in this speech was to negotiate with BOTH tribes separately and pay them each the agreed upon amount—he tells the public that it is worth paying double to avoid bad feelings among the Indians. Jefferson and Madison in particular had relatively liberal Indian policies. It was President Jackson who had the worst Indian policy and produced a large proportion of immoral actions, atrocities and subsequent bad feeling.
The whites had constantly encroached on the Cherokee land which was too large for any reasonable patrolling by the Indians themselves. The Federal government persuaded the Cherokee to sign a treaty by which the Indians would give up their title to the larger part of their land. The most important quid pro quo was that the Federal Government would protect the remainder of the Cherokee land from incursion by whites or even other Indians. However, whites who coveted the land started to encroach and build farms and ranches. The Federal government was reluctant to use American soldiers against American citizens and was looking for a way out. However, the Cherokee chiefs were reminding them of their obligation. The state governments were less concerned about Federal treaties, and Georgia passed a law that said that all the Cherokee land must be governed by State Law contrary to the Treaty which gave the Cherokee total sovereignty. But the Feds were not anxious to have a showdown with the states on this issue. Whites, with the connivance of the state governments and the support of some Federal Officials offered to amend the treaty with the Cherokee. The whites would pay the Indians fair market value for their land in the East. The Federal Government would provide equal amount of land in the Indian Territory of Oklahoma, then a territory. The Feds would assist with the relocation and provide troops to protect the Cherokee from thieves and raiders—whites and Indians, and would guarantee that the Cherokee would be completely sovereign in the new land. The chief’s did not want to renegotiate the old treaty—they just wanted it enforced. The Supreme Court ruled in their favor, but President Jackson, ignored the ruling and forced the Cherokee onto the Trail of Tears for Oklahoma and the whites took over the valuable Cherokee land.
Over the years Sherman’s advocacy of Indian extermination went beyond the Sioux to all Indians.
Large wagon trains of settlers crossed the content on their way to the Oregon Territory. The Sioux Indians whose land the wagon trains had to pass through often attacked the wagon trains in a vain effort to discourage others from passing through the area. The Sioux believed that the large wagon trains frightened the buffalo away, which was probably not a significant factor in the diminishing of the buffalo herds. The Indians and white hunters both over-hunted the buffalo which became few in numbers. With modern wildlife management Buffalo are not only back but are plentiful and being raised for their lean meat which has become a delicacy.
Not all Indians resented the coming of the white man. Several of the more peaceable tribes benefiting by interactions with the United States and some even sought affiliation—especially the military weaker tribes which would be protected by an alliance with the Americans.
The Cherokee's had fallen under the control of the Confederate military and Ross had urged Federal military protection for the tribe.
In a tragic irony, the two chiefs were killed by a year later at the Sand Creek Massacre.
See {612285} also for the specific payments to the Indians. The other tribes of the Iroquois nation had allied themselves with the English. See {583726}. Only the Oneida joined the colonist cause. At the end of the war, the other Iroquois tribes were run out of the country and they escaped to Canada. The Oneida, in contrast, were rewarded by the Federal government and integrated into New York State society.
