Which of the following was the most significant source of conflict between Americans and American Indians quizlet?

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The Dawes Act (sometimes called the Dawes Severalty Act or General Allotment Act), passed in 1887 under President Grover Cleveland, allowed the federal government to break up tribal lands. The federal government aimed to assimilate Native Americans into mainstream US society by encouraging them towards farming and agriculture, which meant dividing tribal lands into individual plots. Only the Native Americans who accepted the division of tribal lands were allowed to become US citizens. This ended in the government stripping over 90 million acres of tribal land from Native Americans, then selling that land to non-native US citizens.

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If they accepted the allotment divisions, the Dawes Act designated 160 acres of farmland or 320 acres of grazing land to the head of each Native American family. These acreages were comparable to those promised by the Homestead Act, but there were important differences between the two acts. Tribes already controlled the land that was being returned to them at a fraction of the acreage, Native Americans were not accustomed to a life of standardized ranching and agriculture, and the lands allotted to them were often unsuitable for farming. In order to receive their allotment, Native Americans were required to enroll with the Office of Indian Affairs, now known as the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). By enrolling, the individual registered themselves with the office and their name went on the “Dawes rolls,” which assisted government agencies in determining whether or not that individual was eligible to receive their allotment.

Although Native Americans controlled about 150 million acres of land before the Dawes Act, they lost the majority of it due to these allotment divisions and selling of surplus. When tribes were paid for their land, they were underpaid. In addition to scant payment, Native Americans were not used to spending money and quickly spent most of what they received. Many were left with little land and little money. Inheritance also became an issue for many Native Americans who enrolled to receive land from the Dawes Act. When young children received allotments, some did not know how to farm because they had spent their youth in boarding schools. When there were multiple inheritors, the size of the plots was too small to divide among children and still be suitable for farming.

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Assimilation was a major goal of Native American policies in the late 19th century. Assimilation is the process of taking individuals or social groups and absorbing them into mainstream culture.

After families claimed their allotments, any remaining tribal lands were declared “surplus” land. These lands were then sold off to non-native settlers. Additional legislation like the Homestead Acts further encouraged white settlement of the West, and with that settlement came calls for assimilation. Many settlers viewed native practices as barbaric and primitive, seeing assimilation as the only option for coexistence.

The US government employed a variety of methods in the attempt to assimilate Native Americans, including the Dawes Act. The desired effect of the Dawes Act was to get Native Americans to farm and ranch like white homesteaders. An explicit goal of the Dawes Act was to create divisions among Native Americans and eliminate the social cohesion of tribes.

Last updated: July 9, 2021

Native Americans resisted the efforts of the Europeans to gain more land and control during the colonial period, but they struggled to do so against a sea of problems, including new diseases, the slave trade, and an ever-growing European population.

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The biggest source of conflict between Native Americans and European settlers was the issue of land ownership and land use.

How did the Dawes Act and the Curtis Act affect the Native Americans?

The Curtis Act helped weaken and dissolve Indian Territory tribal governments by abolishing tribal courts and subjecting all persons in the territory to federal law. Dawes of Massachusetts undertook the compilation of a census to be used as the basis for allotment of tribal lands to individual Indians.

What was one of the main problems with the Indian reservation system?

One of the main problems with the Indian reservation system was that government agents took land from settlers to give to American Indians. dealt dishonestly with American Indian families. did not understand the power structure of American Indian tribes. gave land to settlers who removed American Indians.

What was the reservation system quizlet?

The system that allotted land with designated boundaries to Native American tribes in the west, beginning in the 1850s and ending with the Dawes Severalty Act of 1887. Within these reservations, most land was used communally, rather than owned individually.

Why did the reservation system fail?

The reservation system was a disaster for the Indians as the government failed to keep its promises. The nomadic tribes were unable to follow the buffalo, and conflict among the tribes increased, rather than decreased, as the tribes competed with each other for fewer resources.

When did the Battle of the Little Bighorn occur and what was the result quizlet?

The Battle of the Little Bighorn, fought on June 25, 1876, near the Little Bighorn River in Montana Territory, pitted federal troops led by Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer (1839-76) against a band of Lakota Sioux and Cheyenne warriors.

What was the result of the battle of Little Big Horn quizlet?

The Great Sioux War – which contained the Battle of Little Big Horn. In this battle, the combined forces of the Sioux nation defeated the US Army, leading to the shocked US government changing their policy towards the Indians: civilise and become US citizens or die.

What describes the historical significance of Vaqueros?

What describes the historical significance of vaqueros? They taught there trade to American Cowboys. The fencing of the open range resulted in? force Native Americans onto reservations.