Most people would define wealth as the accumulation of some sort of precious possessions or just plain money. However, like most terms, wealth can be observed as a completely different or foreign concept in another cultural/social group. At this time, two cultural groups, the American Indians and the American English settlers, began to interact more frequently for various purposes such as the purchasing of land. Nevertheless, the concept of wealth and property had been so dissimilar between the two societies that misunderstandings were not unfamiliar to them and frequent disagreements occurred. Fueled by differing understandings and perceptions of wealth and property, a clash between the American Indians and the American English colonists… During the early colonization of America, the accumulation of property was often the definition of one’s wealth and power for the English colonists. To the Indians, there was an emphasis on the cultural capital one held and wampumpeag, a string of beads the Indians wore. As mentioned in Change in the Land, “wampum was a highly valued token of personal power and wealth” (Cronon 95). How can this simple jewelry …show more content…
While the colonists practiced land ownerships, the natives considered only possessions made independently could be owned. The Indians did not believe in the individual collection of goods such as land or tools like the Europeans. To be precise, the American Indians practiced collective ownership while the colonists practiced individual ownership. The Indians saw land as a shared resource, therefore they shared the land with one another. The Europeans, not really acknowledging the natives’ use of land, saw land as something they could own so the English crown would often award the English settlers with the natives’ land they claimed. If this did not work, the colonists would purchase the land from the
Wampum refers to the particular type of white and purple shell beads seen in the famous wampum belt of the Iroquois. The wampum belt consists of the white beads which are sliced from the narrow inner pillars of two marine species namely Northern whelks and B. carina. The wampum belt also had purple wampum beads which were cut from purple segment of the more widely distributed hard-shell clam or quahog. The Algonquian bead makes along the coast of the Southern New England and New York gathered, processed and carefully made the wampum.
Discovery of land brings with it the right to obtain title either by purchase or conquest, subject to the Indians’ right of occupancy. However, the treaty ending the American Revolutionary War transferred sovereignty and power of the lands under such transfers from the British to the United States. The land conveyance to Johnson in this case was made under English rule. The land came under American rule and thus the transfer to Johnson became invalid under American law after the American Revolution,. Additionally, the Indians had a right to annul the agreement with Johnson and reserve the land for themselves in the treaties between the Indians and the United States,.
By this they would claim the land measured by the “walk” and sell it to the colonists for
The Natives only took what they needed to live from the land, unlike the colonists who were interested in luxuries. This can be seen as one of the major differences shown throughout all the interactions between Native Americans and colonists. Native Americans did not see the point in the luxury of owning land, simply having agreements among tribes about where to live, hunt or plant their crops. The English could not even comprehend such an arrangement because they believed it was a natural born right to own land. The Natives were also unbothered by property rights and lacked the desire to own objects that were not useful to them.
In the article by Anthony F. C. Wallace, “The Hunger for Indian Land in Andrew Jackson’s America,” the reasons for America's need for Indian land is discussed. The purpose of this article is to explain the Indian removal that occurred under Andrew Jackson’s presidency. The thesis of this essay states that Americans kicked the Natives off of their land to fulfill a selfish desire to expand the cotton industry. The first point Wallace uses to support his thesis is how Jackson’s financial interest in the land affected the removal of Natives.
While some americans may agree with tecumseh, many others would maintain their belief that the natives were not entitled to land because of their savagery. Yet, by paralleling land to
In 1742 the chief of Onondaga of the Iroquois Confederacy knew that his land that the people shared would become more valuable than it has ever been. (Doc B)The reason for this was because the “white people” also known as the Americans wanted the land of the chief. The feelings of the Chief result in complaining to the representatives of Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia,
Any person who has studied Pennsylvanian history knows that William Penn wanted his colony, his “Holy Experiment,” to act as a haven of religious tolerance for his fellow Quakers and other marginalized groups. However, Penn was a business man as well as a member of the Society of Friends, and he knew that acquiring land on which to settle Europeans was the only way to make his colony successful and profitable. In order to reconcile his financial need to continually expand his holdings in Pennsylvania and his belief (founded in the Quaker teachings which professed the equality of all persons) that Native Americans had a right to their lands, Penn made it clear that land in Pennsylvania would be bought from the Indians, not taken from them.
In the 16th Century, Spain became one of the European forces to reckon with. To expand even further globally, Spanish conquistadors were sent abroad to discover lands, riches, and North America and its civilizations. When the Spanish and Native American groups met one another, they judged each other, as they were both unfamiliar with the people that stood before them. The Native American and Spanish views and opinions of one another are more similar than different because when meeting and getting to know each other, neither the Spaniards nor the Native Americans saw the other group of people as human. Both groups of people thought of one another as barbaric monsters and were confused and amazed by each other’s cultures.
The Spanish based their colonies on the promise of finding gold and possessing it, while the English Settlers based their colonies on the preaching of Christianity all while believing that the land they possessed and owned was how they would gain their liberty, independence, and ultimately their freedom. The Native Americans believed that the land belonged to not one person, but to a community instead; as long a you showed deep respect for it and cared for it as so mandated by the great spirit. Whether it be by the use of violence, religious education, or respect, every society and every person had different views on how the land and its resources should be
This reinforced the belief that Europeans were superior. In addition, Native American and African views on property differed remarkably from that of the Europeans. Many Native American and
During the “Gilded Age” period of American history, development of the Trans-Mississippi west was crucial to fulfilling the American dream of manifest destiny and creating an identity which was distinctly American. Since the west is often associated with rugged pioneers and frontiersmen, there is an overarching idea of hardy American individualism. However, although these settlers were brave and helped to make America into what it is today, they heavily relied on federal support. It would not have been possible for white Americans to settle the Trans-Mississippi west without the US government removing Native Americans from their lands and placing them on reservations, offering land grants and incentives for people to move out west, and the
The Native Americans need their land back . Money is a good way for them to solve their problems but not like having their land back . I believe land is better than money because it can change their life's in so many ways . It's a way of getting their dignity back after what happened to them causes by our people.
Upon the first colonial establishments, the Europeans viewed Native Americans as uncultured, unintelligent, and uncivilized. The first colonizers found themselves ultimately superior to the perceived rudimentary cultural and societal customs that were observed. Native Americans viewed Europeans as a strictly one sided cultural mass enforcement foreign establishment, stopping at nothing to enforce their perceived superiority in all forms of cultural and societal aspects. Differences in land use, gender roles, and societal history added to the wedging and hostility between the Native Americans and European people. Upon the European's first impression of Native American culture, the first notable aspect of their "species" and society was their promising outlook as potential slave laborers.
Compare and Contrast the Native American Culture Introduction The Native Americans were the original owners of the United States of America. However, due to the population increase in Europe, the European migrated to America in seek of land for farming, settlement, and spread their religion (Desai, n.p). The two communities lived together and interacted with each other.