Essay On Native American Government

As Christopher Columbus stated in 1493, "I discovered a great many islands, inhabited by numberless people.” After the arrival of Europeans following Columbus’s discovery, the population of this “numberless people” declined sharply. According to historical estimates, the North American population dropped from nearly four million to only one million between the years of 1492 and 1800. [6] Some may contribute the unfortunate fate of the indigenous peoples of the U.S. to a series of government policies that went wrong. In this paper, I will exam the four phases of policy enforcement towards Native Americans, both by Great Britain and the new government of the United States. The French and Indian War in 1763 concluded with Great Britain’s victory. …show more content…
The Proclamation of 1763 created a temporary boundary line between the settler’s area and the Indian territory, closing down the frontier to colonial expansion. [5] The order, taken into account of the poor relation between the Indians and the British colonials, supposedly protected both sides from rampages and attacks. By assigning lands to the British colonies and the Indians, the Proclamation forbade private arrangements of the Native American land made between the colonial citizens and natives. Consequently, the Crown gained exclusive control over the trading of Native American land. The measure, which served as a conciliation to the Indians, angered the British colonists and land investors. It neglected part of the land that was previously granted to the colonists, many of whom believed that the Indians had no rights to any land at all. [3] Some argue that, by enforcing the Proclamation and siding with the Indians, the King attempted to “increase political and economic power relative to First Nations and other European powers.” [10] In fact, the Proclamation brought the Britain an enormous amount of economic benefits, so much so that the ministers kept the Proclamation through the very last day before the