Henry laurens dawes biography of william

That benevolent gesture resulted in the "Trail of Smiles"—um, we mean the "Trail of Tears".

Henry laurens dawes biography of william: Biography. DAWES, Henry Laurens, a

So the Dawes Act of was one in a long line of U. Tribal lands held communally were allotted to individual Native Americans with the incentive of U. They'd even be given priority for government jobs. Land not allotted was the property of—you guessed it—the U. And with the Native Americans assimilated and "civilized," the government wouldn't have to spend money to oversee their affairs.

Trouble was, the land that was distributed often turned out to be unsuitable for farming. Most of the "allottees" had little idea how to manage private property or farm the land as individual owners. The whole plan was destined to fail. You know what they say about the road to hell being paved with good intentions. Poor Henry Dawes is Exhibit A.

For ten years he negotiated with the tribes to accept the Dawes Act. Sure, this meant that the tribes had to accept the extinction of communal farming, and they had to give up their tribal governments and sovereignty, and oh, about two-thirds of their land, but it was giving them a chance to assimilate and become U. Dawes thought he was fighting for the tribes' continued existence and helping them survive American expansion.

Lots of other people did, too. Here's an excerpt from his obit in New York Times obit in The Senator became earnestly interested in the plan of rescuing the affairs of the Indians from the desperate and shameful condition into which they had fallen, and it was largely due to his efforts that the policy was adopted of dividing the Indian lands in severalty and gradually changing the Indians from members of tribes dependent on the Government to citizens capable of self-support.

To this he devoted the latter part of his life, and the service he rendered was very great and most unselfish source.

Henry laurens dawes biography of william: DAWES, Henry Laurens, a

You might be wondering if the Times' rose-colored glasses are a result of historical white-washing. You'd have a point. But considering the antislavery legislation he wrote as a congressman, could it be that the Dawes Act was actually an effort to protect another vulnerable minority group, misguided as the effort was? And if you look at the one other thing he's known for doing, it shows that he might have been a conservationist at heart.

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Tsongas Shannon Atkins Meehan N. Tsongas Markey Clark. Thatcher Leonard J. Reed Sr. Smith Taggart S. Davis Upham T. Andrew G. Bates W. Leonard Ward Sr. Dwight S. Allen Grennell Briggs J. Hoar Tarbox Butler W. Russell Stone Cogswell W. Connery L. Grout G. Thatcher F. Ames Otis Eustis L. Williams Green Gardner Green J. Reed Jr. Hoar J. Varnum Bishop J.

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Bigelow Baylies Hodges J. Adams Robinson F. Rockwell Crosby E. Thatcher Cutts C. King J. Holmes Lovering E. Thatcher Cook Tallman S. Bruce Chandler Gannett F. Carr Wood J. Carr Wilson Kinsley.

Henry laurens dawes biography of william: Henry Dawes was born on

Wilson T. Parker Conner Gage Cushman. Hubbard Parris E. Cannon Holman Sayers J. Cannon Taber C. Fitzsimons W. Weather Bureau. Dawes entered the U. Senate in A New England Yankee with high cheekbones and a gray beard, Dawes never achieved national prominence, but he was able to influence legislation to help the Native Americans. As chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, he secured funds for educational facilities on the reservations and also brought the Native Americans under Federal criminal laws.

Henry laurens dawes biography of william: Early life​​ Dawes was born in

Dawes is best remembered as author of the Dawes Severalty Act Originating in his belief that Native Americans should be brought into the American political and economic system instead of clinging to their tribal ways, the act was aimed at breaking up the reservation system. It provided acres to each head of family and smaller amounts of land to others who would leave the reservation.

After a probationary period of 25 years, the Indians would be granted full title to the land and United States citizenship.