The Pros And Cons Of Americanization Of The American Indians

The 1880’s were a rough time for the American Indians, not only had they been trying to protect their homes, but they were losing the battle against the white settlers due to Industrialization. The Indians were determined to keep their land and culture so they were willing to do anything to keep the whites off of their land. They relied on the buffalo for sources of food, shelter, and clothing. As the settlers began to attack them for their land, the Indians fought back with bows and arrows made from buffalo bones and shields from their hide. They had an advantage over the riffles until the revolver was invented. It could be reloaded very quickly and multiple bullets could be fired in one shot and without having to reload. This caused a confidence boost in the white settlers who started to Invade the Indian land. As they invaded the land, they realized how resourceful it was and decided it was perfect to connect the east and west coast calling it the transcontinental railroad. It boosted the economy but diminished the buffalo, which the Indians deeply relied on, ultimately defeating the Indians.

The United States made multiple policies against the Indians in order to keep in the indians in one place.

Americanizing the Indians meant they had to adopt the American way of life and give up their culture, traditions, and values. THe majority of Americans agreed with americanization because they didn't appreciate their culture. On the other hand, there were some Americans who this troubled. People began to spread their opinions on the injustice in different ways such as, Helen Hunt JAckson who wrote a documentary about it and Sarah Winnemucca who spoke out against the injustices. The main argument against Americanization was, “that the deep rooted cultures of the Indians could not be rapidly changed without grave consequences.” As a large amount of the population agreed to Americanization, many others thought it was