Congress Attempts to Protect Native American Territories
The topic of Congress's attempts to protect Native American territories highlights the complex relationship between expanding American settlers and Indigenous tribes during the westward expansion of the United States. In the early years following the American Revolution, certain tribes, such as the Cherokee and Seminole, were able to negotiate from a position of strength, defending their lands against encroachment. However, as the population of American settlers grew, the pressure to expand into Native territories intensified, often leading to conflict.
Congress initially sought to manage this tension by implementing policies aimed at regulating interactions between settlers and Native tribes. The passage of an Act in 1796 marked an early effort to respect tribal lands by prohibiting settlers from hunting or fishing in areas designated for tribes' protection. Despite these intentions, the federal government struggled to enforce such policies effectively, as the lure of land and the lack of policing made it difficult to prevent settlement. Ultimately, this ongoing struggle reflects the challenges faced in balancing the interests of American expansion with the rights and territories of Native American nations.
Congress Attempts to Protect Native American Territories
Congress Attempts to Protect Native American Territories
The conflict between America's westward expansion and the rights of Native American tribes in the path of this expansion was always a difficult one. Ultimately, Native American societies were simply swept aside by the superior numbers, economic power, and military capabilities of the American settlers. During the colonial period and for some decades after the American Revolution, however, various Native American tribes were in a position to deal with the United States from a certain position of strength. For example, Cherokee communities thrived until the presidency of Andrew Jackson, and the Seminole in Florida defeated the United States Army on several occasions.
During the colonial era, the British sought to prevent American settlers from going beyond the Allegheny Mountains that served as a natural boundary between the 13 colonies and the interior of the North American continent. The British did not have the means to enforce this policy, however, particularly in the face of America's rapidly growing population and the influx of European immigrants. British attempts to limit trans-Allegheny settlement were in fact one of the colonial grievances that led to the American Revolution. After the Revolution, however, the independent United States inherited many of the political considerations that had led to the British policy in the first place. Native American tribes served as a buffer between the British possessions in Canada to the north and other European powers such as France and Spain to the west and south. Further, if American settlers were to encroach on Native-American lands there was the risk of frontier warfare, something that the fledgling United States wanted to avoid and where the Native-American tribes were still capable of mounting significant military campaigns.
The United States was not willing to stop the settlement of the Northwest Territory won from Britain, which roughly comprises the region of the modern day states of Ohio, Illinois, and Indiana, but on May 14, 1796, the federal government decided to implement a “hands-off” policy with respect to other tribal lands along the frontier. On that date, Congress passed “an Act to regulate trade and intercourse with the Indian tribes,” which made it illegal for American settlers to hunt, fish, or trap on the lands of certain tribes deemed important enough for protection. Congress, however, was just as ineffective as the British in attempting to slow down the steamroller of westward settlement and expansion. There was no effective means of policing the frontier, and the temptation to grab available land was too strong for settlers to resist.