Native American and White Conflict

Native American and White Conflict

Conflict is common all throughout the history of the United States. The conflict that will be focused on is the conflict between the Native Americans and white people during the era of Reconstruction. Many factors set off the rising conflict between the Indians and white people. White people appeared to think they were superior to the Native Americans because they had more controlling power. The idea of civilization in the United States is another factor that contributed to a long road of conflict. These two factors was the beginning to a long road to greater conflict between the Native Americans and white people as the government tried to rejoin the Confederacy with the Union to create one country.

The Great Plains was reserved for the Native Americans before and during the Civil War by the United States government. Because it was the era of the steel plows, railroads and the Union victory, the Americans felt they had the power to incorporate the Great Plains into the United States that they were trying to rebuild. The Native Americans (Lakota) were outraged by the white people trying to take their land that was set aside for them. The result was reservations wars broke out between the white people and Native Americans. As battles broke out, reformers wanted to put in place a new humane policy. The policy was to destroy native ways but save the Indians from themselves and make Indians into what white people thought they should be.

After the reservation wars broke out in the late 19th century, and the conflict between the Native Americans and whites continued to rise, the new focus was the idea of civilization. The idea of civilization was to bring the United States together and help control the Indians. Indians were to be made into civil people that could be socially accepted into society. The process of civilization started with Grant’s Peace Policy. Grant’s Peace Policy was based off of recommendations from Christian reformers. The policy required many things. It forced Native Americans to go to private educational schools to be educated. The Indians were stripped of their Native American names and given socially acceptable names and their hair was cut off. This policy took away any customs the Indians had by forcing them into doing the customs of white people.

During the idea of civilization, a conservation law was put into place by President Theodore Roosevelt. The conservation and preservation law forced Native Americans off their lands. By pushing the natives off the land