The Impact of the White Man on Native Americans

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The coming of white settler to America had major impacts on the Native Americans. The Natives were very vulnerable to getting diseases from the Europeans since they never had exposure to the European's disease and had no immunity to them. Small pox was brought over to America by slave trips. The Cherokee people also didn't have proper treatment for the diseases they caught. They would use their traditional remedy of plunging in a cold stream, which was the worst treatment possible for the diseases the caught from the Europeans. The natives were also so proud of their physical appearance that the uglification the disease caused them, made many of the people to commit suicide. The epidemic of diseases brought to the Natives from the settler was devastating. It destroyed a huge percentage of their tribes. As a result, the relationship between the Natives and whites quickly deteriorated. Soon enough, the Europeans' greed ruined their relationship. The Europeans became eager for land, however, the land of the Natives was very meaningful to them because it was the land of their ancestors, their future, food source, and their "home base", their protection. The Europeans viewed the Native Americans they encountered to be primitive people and viewed themselves as greatly superior to the Natives. They felt that since they weren't Christians, they needed saving, and took advantage of the Native's weaknesses. The Manifest Destiny reflected the prides of American Nationalism as well as the idealistic vision of social perfect through God. The components of the Manifest Destiny created more reasons to conquer new land and all together created a need to dominate all land from pole to pole. A main factor was a religious influence. They belie... ... middle of paper ... ... it also says that Indians do not have to pay state sales tax on transactions made on an Indian reservation or local property taxes on reservation or trust lands. On Indian Reservations, only federal and tribal laws apply to members of the tribe, unless Congress provides otherwise. The treaties signed with Indian tribes are part of the US Constitution and honored by all members of government. Those who do not honor the treaties are considered to commit treason by disobeying them. Despite all of the struggles of the Native Americans, there is hope for the tribes’ futures. Many forms of improvement that benefitted the Natives’ way of life have already occurred, although there is still room for much improvement. With the continuation of the United States’ aid to the tribes, Native Americans should be able to improve their quality of life and maintain their heritage.

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