Progressive Era Attitudes

One of the fundamental beliefs of the post-Civil War period was that Indian culture was inferior to white culture, which led to boarding schools, reservations, and suppression of Indian culture. The Progressive Era was from the 1890s to the 1920s, and it occurred all over the United States. The Progressive Era was an attempt to fix the corrupted government, break up monopolies, and improve problems in society. The Progressives also thought that the Indians were problematic to white society. For example, the Indians believed that the land was sacred, and the whites felt that the land was to use. As the white population grew, they required more land and attempted to take the land from the Indians. Although well intended, the fundamental beliefs and attitudes of the progressives resulted in loss of identity and led to the ultimate failure of Native American education.
The Progressives believed that Indians were inferior to white people, and the solution was to assimilate the Indians into white society, which caused great damage to the Indians. The whites did not recognize the tribal systems and thought the Indians uncivilized. The whites thought they could teach Indians by putting them in classrooms. In fact, the Indians had their own methods of teaching. …show more content…
The Progressives viewed Indians as just another problem to fix. Although the Progressives had noble intentions, the result of the Progressive policies caused addiction, loss of identity, and countless other problems. Progressive education policy stripped the Indians of their identity, but did not teach them enough skills to be self-sufficient in life. The Indians were stuck in limbo, because they could not return to their roots or move forward.The Progressive policies were so extreme that they were a contradiction to the American founding ideals. The Progressives robbed the Indians of their freedom, and in effect, negated the