How did Westward Expansion effect Native Americans?
▪Territorial expansion and related land policies had a very negative impact on Native Americans. ▪As more settlers moved west, the took more Native American land. ▪Native Americans also lost a lot of their freedoms. ▪They also created conflict (problems) with the tribes. ▪The United States Government exercised its power to make treaties and to force tribes to move from their ancestral lands. ▪There were two main treaties that we are going to learn about: –Northwest Ordinance of 1787 –Indian Removal Act of 1830
▪Allowed new lands to organize as territories and later as states when their population of white settlers reached a certain number. ▪Provided public schools ▪Outlawed slavery ▪These states are now known as Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. ▪This is the first time the national government had taken a stand against slavery, following the idea of “all men are created equal.” ▪The Northwest Ordinance promised “utmost good faith shall always be observed towards the Indians, their land and property shall never be taken without their consent.” ▪The Northwest Ordinance encouraged westward expansion therefore, Native Americans were forced to give up their land and move further west. ▪Passed by the US Congress and signed by Andrew Jackson. ▪Provided land and money to the president so that he could create treaties with the Native Americans in which they would move west of the Mississippi River. ▪If the tribes resisted then the military would takeover. ▪Some tribes tried to live in harmony adapting American customs (Language, government, and plantations with slavery) ▪The Cherokee Native Americans had the right to keep their land as decided by the Supreme Court. ▪President Andrew Jackson ignored the court’s ruling and forced the Cherokee from the land. ▪They moved into present day Oklahoma following the Trail of Tears. ▪The use of labor insured that the move was accomplished and because of this many died on the trail. ▪The Seminoles tried to fight but they lost and were captured and forced to move. ▪Native Americans were promised reservations in the west. –A reservation is land set aside for a certain purpose (we still have Native American Reservations today) ▪The government would break the treaties and take land when it was convenient for them. ▪They would take land away from gold, silver, and rich grazing land. ▪This led to Indian Wars and massacres of the Native Americans.
How did Westward Expansion effect African Americans?
The South was even more dependent on slavery due to the invention of the cotton gin.
The North was gradually emancipating their slaves and wanted slaves in Missiouri to be emancipated as well.
Southern states were worried they would loose power in Congress if there were more free states than slave states.
Due to immigration to the North, their representatives outnumbered the South’s in the House of Representatives.
The Compromise tried to avoid future problems by prohibiting slavery in the Louisiana Territory.
The admission of Missouri was balanced by the admission of Maine as a free state.
Result of California applying to be admitted to the union as a free state.
The miners wanted free competition when searching for gold in the state.
The Compromise was that California could be free and Washington DC was a slave territory. (DC is not a state)
It also allowed the remainder of the Mexican Cession to decide whether or not the residents wanted to be a slave or free state through a vote.
Southerners could have their escaped slaves caught and returned to their masters.
Free African Americans were required to proved necessary proof or run the risk of being taken and sold in the South.
Later, the Northern states passed a personal liberty law that legalized disobedience of the fugitive slave law.
Kansas was part of the Louisiana Territory and could not be a slave state.
Some politicians wanted to build a transcontinental railroad through Kansas; they needed the support of the South.
The Kansas-Nebraska act appealed the Missouri Compromise and allowed the people in theses territories to decide for themselves whether or whether not to allow slavery.
People quickly moved to Kansas so that their vote would count and their idea could pass.
The state was overpopulated and violence erupted earned the area to be called “Bleeding Kansas.”
A case taken to the Supreme Court by Southerners to settle the controversy over slaves that were escaped to free areas.
Dred Scott was a slave whose master had taken him into a free territory and then continued to use him as a slave.
Northern abolitionists helped Scott sue his master for his freedom claiming “once free, always free.”
The Supreme Court decided:
African Americans were notcitizens of the United States
African Americans could not sue someone due to the fact they were not citizens
Slaves were property and could be taken anywhere
This meant that slavery was technically legal anywhere in the United States.
The courts decisions affected all legislation that Congress has passed regarding the expansion of slavery into the west. (Missouri Compromise, Compromise of 1850, Fugitive Slave Act.
The Dred Scott decision created more issues in the United States than solving the problem (DRAMA!)
Northerners saw the ruling as denying them the right to outlaw slavery in their states and territories.
Southerners were overjoyed.
The United States was being torn apart due to this decision.