History, asked by WILLIJAD000, 2 months ago

How did westward expansion affect Native Americans?

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Answered by 03628friend
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Answer:

By 1820, the United States had doubled in size and was already one of the

largest countries in the world. The demand for land kept growing, however.

People wanted land to grow cotton, and settlers wanted land for new homes and

communities. Yet Native American tribes inhabited much of the valuable land

that the U.S. government wanted. While the young country was attempting to

grow bigger and stronger, the Native Americans were trying to maintain life as

they knew it.

Deals between Native Americans and colonists were seldom favorable to Native

Americans. Some settlers believed that the tribes did not need land because

they were all nomads, travelers without permanent homes. In fact, this was a

myth. Many Southeast tribes raised crops

and lived in villages. These tribes suffered

greatly as the United States government

took more and more land. Nomadic tribes

suffered as well. They had to leave the

rivers, forests, and mountains and move

to a very different topography.

At first, the native tribes were given a

choice of sorts. They had to either adopt

white culture or move off of their land.

President Thomas Jefferson offered land

out West to the tribes who preferred their

own ways. The Native Americans who

chose to adopt white culture were called

accommodationists. The tribes that rejected white culture outright were called

traditionalists. Later, however, even the accommodationists were forced to

forfeit, or give up, their lands to the United States. For this reason, the options

presented to the Native Americans were not real choices. Either way, they had

to give up their land and lifestyl

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