Native American Genocide Essay Example for Free

primaeval American Genocide EssayWhen people think of genocide, there are many different examples that may run through their heads. An strategic example of genocide that came about during World War II was Adolf Hitlers attempt to eliminate people of the Jewish faith. This example may be the almost prominent in history, but it may not have been the earliest. Many think that genocides only authorise in foreign countries, but in fact, oneness of the first genocides spotn to man took place in the soil we are currently standing on. When colonists first came to America, they thought they were discovering new land.Contrary to their belief, they were actually attempting to get a line over land that was already inhabited by people with their own way of life. What happened after that is described as an American Holocaust (Lewy). It is evident that a myriad of death and destruction came to autochthonic American tribes when the colonist explorers and settlers arrived. The mass oblit eration of the Native American population from an estimated 12 million in 1500 to that 237,000 in 1900 represents a tragic genocide.The definition of genocide, according to The American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy Third Edition, is the deliberate and systematic extermination of a national, racial, political, or cultural group. According to this definition, what happened to the Native Americans is genocide because it was deliberate and premeditated. Sir Jeffrey Amherst, commander-in-chief of Colonists forces in North America, wrote the following to Colonel Henry Bouquet at Fort Pitt You get out do well to try to inoculate the Indians with smallpox by means of blankets, as well as to try every other method, that can resolve to extirpate this execrable race. Between 75 to 90 percent of all Native American deaths resulted from smallpox (Halverson). Therefore, the Colonists were not oblivious to the spread of smallpox end-to-end the Native American population. In fac t, they were the ones who deliberately be after to exterminate the Native American race by the use of biological warfare, an obvious act of genocide. In addition, The Indian removal Act of 1830 also led to a great reduction in the Native American population.The treaty began the incredible but acerb move of over 70,000 Native Americans within the span of ten years which resulted in over 3,000 tribes alone dying during the move (Lewy). This indicates that the Colonists were attempting to eradicate the Native American race, proving that what has happened is a form of genocide. In resistivity to this, some may argue that the colonists were truly oblivious to the spread of smallpox and that as soon as they came to know about it they tried to stop it. When President Thomas Jefferson heard about the disease, he started a vaccination program.This program vaccinated over 200,000 Native Americans (Coodey). They were not trying to use biological warfare and kill the Natives moreover, the c olonist really cared that the Native Americans became sick and did all they could do to try to booster them. Also, when The Indian Removal Act was enacted, President Andrew Jackson promised the protection of tribes from all outside forces while they were going to the newly designated land. The act also guaranteed aid for those who were moving and needed help in doing so. Also it said that the Colonists army will help the Native Americans in any way possible (Coodey).This shows that the Colonists were really concerned about the Native Americans well-being throughout the trip. Since the colonists tried to help the Native Americans and it wasnt deliberate or systematic, what happened to the Native Americans does not represent as a form of genocide. Refuting the opposition made above, contrary to popular belief, President Andrew Jackson had all the Native Americans fooled. There was something in the treaty that the Native Americans might have overlooked. It stated in the treaty that if the Indians become extinct, or abandon, the same lands shall revert to the United States (Delema).This proves that President Jackson somehow knew that the Native Americans will get killed during the journey, as if he had planned something to happen. Also, the Trail of Tears isnt the only way that they tried to kill the Native Americans the colonists were greedy for land and grew less tolerant of the Natives standing in their way. When Texas entered the union, the colonists really wanted the land and wanted the Native Americans to emigrate out of Texas. Colonists continually went onto their lands and continually killed many people.In 1859, after a system of reservations failed, Native Americans were in conclusion forced out of Texas (Delema). I would say that the Colonists went to large extremities to annihilate the Native Americans which represents as a form of genocide. Another example is on a tribal level, rather than state, which occurred in 1877 with the Nez Perce Tribe. Appro ximately 750 members of the Nez Perce tribe were forced to move to designated reservations under orders of General Howard. The Nez Perce fled to Montana where they thought that they would be safe from Howard.Once they were settled, Colonel John gibbon took orders from Howard to carry on an attack on the tribe with the intention of wiping them out, not just relocating them. Gibbon issued a surprise attack which left numerous inanimate (Highberger). This is a form of genocide because it was systematic, since he was ordered and the attack was carried out by a commander, and it was deliberate, since they had planned to intentionally kill them. In conclusion what happened to the Native Americans is a form of genocide because it was a deliberate and systematic death and destruction of the Native Americanswhich does fall under the definition of genocide.The history of Native Americans tells us that it can be determined as a form of genocide cause by the Colonists settlers since what they did was premeditated. While we cannot go back in time, we can canvass from the mistakes and learn tolerance from history. This can help us realize that not only does this go on in other nations, it may also occur on Americas homeland. Works Cited Coodey, Shorey The Trail of Tears and the Forced Relocation of the Cherokee Nation Trail of Tears The Rise and Fall of the Cherokee Nation (2006) 351. Proquest. Web. whitethorn 22, 2012.genocide. The American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005. 21 whitethorn. 2012. . Halverson, Melissa Native American during the Smallpox Epidemics an Evolution. ABO Blood Group Frequencies in Pre-European Contact America An Ancient DNA Analysis(2007). NCWiseOwl. Web. May 22, 2012. Highberger, Mark Nez Perce War. American History (2006). NCWiseOwl. Web. May 22, 2012 Lewy, Guenter Were American Indians the Victims of Genocide? A Century of Dishonor (2007). ProQuest. Web. May 22, 2012.