Effects Of The Dawes Act

When the Dawes Act, a Native American Policy, was enforced in 1887, it focused on breaking up reservations by granting land allotments to individual Native Americans. At that time, people believed that if a person adopted the white man’s clothing, ways and was responsible for his own farm, he would eventually drop his, as stated by the Oxford University Press, “Indian-ness” and become assimilated in American society. The basic idea of this act was the taking away of Native American Culture because they were considered savage and primitive to the incoming settlers. Many historians now agree the Native’s treatment throughout the Dawes Act was completely unfair, unlawful, and unethical. American Society classified them as savages solely on their differences in morals, religion, appearance and overall culture.
First, the American government made reservations to separate American settlers and Native Americans in an effort to acquire more land from the Indians and hopefully try to stop conflict. Unfortunately for the Native Americans by the late 1800’s settlers were
The government’s goal was to Americanize them into society. America is based on immigrants from all over the world. Each of them brought their own customs, culture and values and integrated them in society. Native Americans however, were known as savages because the government saw them as uncivilized and uncontrollable. Although the United States claims, it is a free country and states in the first amendment that you may believe in any religion you want without persecution but it did not give that right to the Natives. Instead, the government was trying to convert the Native Americans religion to catholic or christen completely forgetting many people came to America to escape religious persecution. The government were trying to assimilate the Natives by taking away their religion and