Indian Appropriations Act
Encyclopedia
The Indian Appropriations Act is the name of several acts passed by the United States Congress
. A considerable number of acts were passed under the same name throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, but the most notable landmark acts consist of the 1851 Indian Appropriations Act and the 1871 Indian Appropriations Act.
There are differing explanations as to why these this act was instituted.
One of which is that the average Independent Americans regarded Indians’ control of land and other natural resources in parts around the country as a serious potential threat towards their expansionary and economic goals.
Another explanation is that due to the country's fixed amount of land, the previously unrestricted presence of the Indians living under different tribal laws but off the jurisdiction of American Law began to unintentionally but naturally conflict legally with the growing number of Americans settling on more and more lands and their own less freedoms and duties. This quickly posed as a potentially dangerous security and insurance concern for many enterprising Americans, and the federal government, responsible for protecting its own citizens, was expected to respond with a solution not known before and departing from that previously practiced by the British Empire.
But the explanation more often utilized is one that originated in the 1830s, nearly two decades before the passing of this Act, when many Americans agreed with President Jackson
theories that Indians needed to be resettled westward for their own protection. As decided, Native Americans in the South were forced to move to the Great Plains, but by the 1850s, Americans began to move into that area as well. Thus, the federal government, acting on such exigency and on Americans’ long-standing sentiments regarding the Indians, passed the Indian Appropriations Act of 1851, placing Indians on reservations given there were no other lands available for another forced relocation.
, Congress passed the 1885 Act which allowed Indian tribes to sell unoccupied lands in their possession.
, on March 2, 1889, signed the 1889 Act which officially opened the Unassigned Lands
to white settlers via homestead
. On a sidenote, Grover Cleveland signed the Act into law days before his successor, Benjamin Harrison
, took over as President of the United States
. However, under a section in this original act, those who entered these unassigned lands illegally, before their respective racing times as designated in the President’s opening proclamation, would be denied the rights to the lands they claimed. These people were termed "Sooners,” with this section of the act being termed as the "sooner clause.” But there was growing political pressure to open these unassigned lands to settlement quickly. Thus, later in 1889, an amendment to the Indian Appropriations Act allowed President Benjamin Harrison to be involved in this historical bill as well, proclaiming unassigned lands were open for settlement under much less stringent rules.
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
. A considerable number of acts were passed under the same name throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, but the most notable landmark acts consist of the 1851 Indian Appropriations Act and the 1871 Indian Appropriations Act.
1851 Act
The 1851 Indian Appropriations Act allocated funds to move western tribes onto reservations. Reservations were protected and enclosed by the US government. According to the federal government at that time, reservations were to be created in order to protect the Native Americans from the growing encroachment of whites moving westward. This act set the precedent for modern-day Native American reservations.There are differing explanations as to why these this act was instituted.
One of which is that the average Independent Americans regarded Indians’ control of land and other natural resources in parts around the country as a serious potential threat towards their expansionary and economic goals.
Another explanation is that due to the country's fixed amount of land, the previously unrestricted presence of the Indians living under different tribal laws but off the jurisdiction of American Law began to unintentionally but naturally conflict legally with the growing number of Americans settling on more and more lands and their own less freedoms and duties. This quickly posed as a potentially dangerous security and insurance concern for many enterprising Americans, and the federal government, responsible for protecting its own citizens, was expected to respond with a solution not known before and departing from that previously practiced by the British Empire.
But the explanation more often utilized is one that originated in the 1830s, nearly two decades before the passing of this Act, when many Americans agreed with President Jackson
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...
theories that Indians needed to be resettled westward for their own protection. As decided, Native Americans in the South were forced to move to the Great Plains, but by the 1850s, Americans began to move into that area as well. Thus, the federal government, acting on such exigency and on Americans’ long-standing sentiments regarding the Indians, passed the Indian Appropriations Act of 1851, placing Indians on reservations given there were no other lands available for another forced relocation.
1871 Act
According to the Indian Appropriation Act of March 3, 1871, no longer was any group of Indians in the United States recognized as an independent nation by the federal government. Moreover, Congress directed that all Indians should be treated as individuals and legally designated "wards" of the federal government. Before this bill was enacted, the federal government signed treaties with different Native American tribes, committing the tribes to land cessions, in exchange for specific lands designated to Indians for exclusive indigenous use as well as annual payments in the form of cash, livestock, supplies, and services. But such treaties, which took much time and effort to finalize, ceased with the passage of the 1871 Indian Appropriation Act, declaring that “no Indian nation or tribe” would be recognized “as an independent nation, tribe, or power with whom the United States may contract by treaty.” Thus, it can be argued that this bill made it significantly easier for the federal government to secure lands that were previously owned by Native Americans.1885 Act
After several attempts by the Boomers to enter Indian TerritoryIndian Territory
The Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...
, Congress passed the 1885 Act which allowed Indian tribes to sell unoccupied lands in their possession.
1889 Act
After years of trying to open Indian Territory, President Grover ClevelandGrover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents...
, on March 2, 1889, signed the 1889 Act which officially opened the Unassigned Lands
Unassigned Lands
Unassigned Lands, or Oklahoma, were in the center of the lands ceded to the United States by the Creek and Seminole Indians following the Civil War and on which no other tribes had been settled...
to white settlers via homestead
Homesteading
Broadly defined, homesteading is a lifestyle of simple self-sufficiency.-Current practice:The term may apply to anyone who follows the back-to-the-land movement by adopting a sustainable, self-sufficient lifestyle. While land is no longer freely available in most areas of the world, homesteading...
. On a sidenote, Grover Cleveland signed the Act into law days before his successor, Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison was the 23rd President of the United States . Harrison, a grandson of President William Henry Harrison, was born in North Bend, Ohio, and moved to Indianapolis, Indiana at age 21, eventually becoming a prominent politician there...
, took over as President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
. However, under a section in this original act, those who entered these unassigned lands illegally, before their respective racing times as designated in the President’s opening proclamation, would be denied the rights to the lands they claimed. These people were termed "Sooners,” with this section of the act being termed as the "sooner clause.” But there was growing political pressure to open these unassigned lands to settlement quickly. Thus, later in 1889, an amendment to the Indian Appropriations Act allowed President Benjamin Harrison to be involved in this historical bill as well, proclaiming unassigned lands were open for settlement under much less stringent rules.