Henry Laurens Dawes (October 30, 1816 – February 5, 1903) was an attorney and politician, a Republican United States Senator and United States Representative from Massachusetts. He is notable for the Dawes Act The Dawes Act of 1887 authorized the President of the United States to subdivide Native American tribal landholdings into allotments for Native American heads of families and individuals, transferring traditional systems of land tenure into government-imposed systems of private property by forcing Native Americans to "assume a capitalist and proprietary relationship with property" that did not previously exi…Dawes Act
What did Henry L Dawes do for Native Americans?
Henry L. Dawes. Jump to navigation Jump to search. Henry Laurens Dawes (October 30, 1816 – February 5, 1903) was a Republican United States Senator and United States Representative. He is notable for the Dawes Act, which was intended to stimulate the assimilation of Native Americans by ending the tribal government and control of communal lands.
What did the Dawes Act of 1887 do?
Dawes General Allotment Act. Dawes General Allotment Act, also called Dawes Severalty Act, (Feb. 8, 1887), U.S. law providing for the distribution of Indian reservation land among individual tribesmen, with the aim of creating responsible farmers in the white man’s image. It was sponsored in several sessions of Congress by Sen. Henry L.
Who is Henry May Dawes?
Henry May Dawes (April 22, 1877 – September 29, 1952) was an American businessman and banker from a prominent Ohio family. He served as a United States Comptroller of the Currency from 1923 to 1924 and also worked as an executive in the oil industry.
Where did Henry Dawes grow up?
Henry Dawes was born near Cummington, Mass., on Oct. 30, 1816. After completing grade school and the academy at Cummington, he graduated from Yale College. He taught school for a few months, then began writing for local newspapers, read law, and was admitted to the Massachusetts bar in 1842.
What 3 things did the Dawes Act do?
The main goals of the Dawes Act were the allotment of land, vocational training, education, and the divine intervention. Each Native American family head was given 320 acres of grazing land or 160 acres of farmland. If they were single, they were given 80 acres.
What did Henry Dawes believe in?
Dawes strongly believed that the ownership of land was an important process in persuading people to accept the laws of the government. He therefore suggested that Native Americans should be granted land in exchange for renouncing tribal allegiances.
Was the Dawes Act successful?
For Americans, especially settlers and land speculators, the Dawes Act was extremely successful. Through the act and several additional laws passed in subsequent years, scores of native lands were sold to non-native settlers.
Why was the Dawes Act created?
The objective of the Dawes Act was to assimilate Native Americans into mainstream US society by annihilating their cultural and social traditions.
Was Henry Dawes a friend of the Indians?
Dawes was widely regarded as a friend of the tribes and an expert on Indian affairs. The power to determine citizenship was given to a citizenship commission by an act of the National Council of May 30, 1895.
When did Senator Dawes serve?
Henry Laurens Dawes (October 30, 1816 – February 5, 1903) was an attorney and politician, a Republican United States Senator and United States Representative from Massachusetts....Henry L. Dawes.Henry Laurens DawesIn office March 4, 1875 – March 3, 1893Preceded byWilliam B. WashburnSucceeded byHenry Cabot Lodge32 more rows
Where was Henry Dawes born?
Henry Dawes was born near Cummington, Mass. , on Oct. 30, 1816. After completing grade school and the academy at Cummington, he graduated from Yale College. He taught school for a few months, then began writing for local newspapers, read law, and was admitted to the Massachusetts bar in 1842. His first office was at North Adams, ...
What was the Dawes Severalty Act?
Dawes is best remembered as author of the Dawes Severalty Act (1887). 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.
Who was the first person to introduce the weather bureau?
Weather Bureau. Dawes entered the U.S. Senate in 1875.
What was the name of the Yankee who helped Native Americans?
Dawes entered the U.S. Senate in 1875. 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.
Who sponsored the Dawes Act?
A copy of the Dawes General Allotment Act. Henry L. Dawes, who sponsored the Dawes General Allotment Act. Under the Dawes Act, Native American life deteriorated in a manner not anticipated by its sponsors.
What was the impact of the Dawes Act on Native Americans?
Under the Dawes Act, Native American life deteriorated in a manner not anticipated by its sponsors. The social structure of the tribe was weakened; many nomadic Native Americans were unable to adjust to an agricultural existence; others were swindled out of their property; and life on the reservation came to be characterized by disease, filth, poverty, and despondency. The act also provided that any “surplus” land be made available to whites, who by 1932 had acquired two-thirds of the 138,000,000 acres (56,000,000 hectares) Native Americans had held in 1887.
How many acres did the Native Americans own in 1887?
The act also provided that any “surplus” land be made available to whites, who by 1932 had acquired two-thirds of the 138,000,000 acres (56,000,000 hectares) Native Americans had held in 1887. …policy was effected through the Dawes General Allotment Act (1887).
What did the Dawes Act Do?
The Dawes Act aimed to force Native Americans to hold land individually rather than in tribal groups. The purpose of the Act was two-fold: it aimed to move Native Americans from affiliating with their tribes to being in family units and it also aimed to move Native Americans into a capitalist market system. All in all, it wanted to assimilate Native Americans into a Eurocentric society. It also made Native American land available to be repossessed by white people, although this was not the original goal of the legislation. By making Native Americans adopt a Eurocentric lifestyle and pushing them to participate in a market system, Native Americans were given two choices: either become assimilated or die off. Either way, society's issues surrounding Native American identity would be dealt with.
How did the Dawes Act affect Native Americans?
The main impact of the Dawes Act caused Native Americans to lose their land and their heritage by taking them from their land and forcing them west.
How were Native Americans treated in boarding schools?
Native Americans were encouraged to become white. Many of the children were sent off to boarding school and were taught to adopt a Eurocentric culture. They were given white names and had their hair cut in white fashions. The treatment of Native Americans in United States' boarding schools was similar to how First Nation members were treated in Canada. Many Native Americans who were celebrated were those who achieved recognition within white society, like Jim Thorpe or Will Rogers.
What was the Native American problem in 1838?
However, the tribes did not want to give up their land. In 1838, the United States used a variety of means to force the Native Americans west (e.g., the Trail of Tears). This included a United States army driving some 16,000 Cherokees west, with an estimated 4,000 people dying along the way. The territory of present day Oklahoma was carved out as an "Indian territory" and promised to the various tribes who had been moved. The "Indian Problem" was thus largely ended, for a time. It resumed when the United States had settled in most of the west and sought a way to gain parts of what is now Oklahoma. The United States then had to deliberate on what to do with various minority groups, including the various Native American tribes. The first area focused on was the Indian Territory.
How did Native Americans destroy their culture?
Native American culture was greatly destroyed by these acts. Native Americans were judged according to white standards and were forced to follow white norms. Besides being organized in family units, Native Americans were forced to have a male head of household, which destroyed the power some women had in Native American lands. Those who adopted white ways and were viewed as "mixed-blood" were often given more land, but in return were forced to fully separate from the tribe. Native American children were also pushed into white schools. This destruction of culture greatly encouraged the assimilation that will be discussed later.
What was the result of the Dawes Act?
The end result was a checkerboard pattern across the territories , making Native management of their properties difficult. As explained by the Indian Land Tenure Foundation:
What were the two social forces that led to the Dawes Act?
Two very different social forces helped shape this new policy: greed and humanitarianism. Many Whites wanted Indian land and knew that they would have an easier time obtaining it if Indian tribes disappeared. This greed prompted Congress to pass the Dawes Act. The Dawes Act was also favored by many non-Indian social reformers who were aware that Indians were suffering unmercifully under the government’s existing reservation policies, and they sincerely believed that the best way to help Indians overcome their plight and their poverty was by encouraging assimilation. Although their motives differed, both groups pressured Congress to pass the Dawes Act. The objectives of the Act, as the US Supreme Court has noted, “were simple and clear cut: to extinguish tribal sovereignty, erase reservation boundaries, and force the assimilation of Indians into the society at large.” Indian tribes had no say in the matter and were not even consulted.
What was the purpose of the Dawes Severalty Act?
The Dawes Severalty Act, or General Allotment Act, of 1887, was legislation sponsored by Senator Henry Dawes of Massachusetts, with the objective of abolishing each tribe’s communal ownership of land, and assimilating Native Americans into the dominant white society. It was thought that by dividing up the reservations and thereby breaking up the tribes, assimilation would follow naturally. Dawes’ goal was to create independent farmers out of Indians, giving them land and the tools for citizenship. They really thought that assimilation was the best thing to solve the “Indian problem.”
How much land did the Indians get before the Dawes Act?
The tribes were supposed to simply disappear. Before the Dawes Act, Indians held about 150 million acres of land. Within twenty years, two-thirds of their land was gone. Indians received very little payment for the land they gave up. They were not used to managing money so they quickly spent the money they received. The reservation system was nearly destroyed.
How much land was lost in the Dawes Act?
By the time the US passed the Dawes Act in 1887, there was very little land left. The Dawes Act was directly responsible for the loss of 90 million acres of Native American land, effectively abolishing tribal self-governance and forcing assimilation. Astounding how 100 years after making the statement that we would never take Native land without their consent, that’s exactly what we did (and had been doing).
Who is Stephen Pevar?
Stephen Pevar is senior staff counsel of the American Civil Liberties Union and an adjunct professor at NYU Law School, teaching American Indian Law. The introduction is by John Echohawk, Executive Director of the Native American Rights Fund.
Which group of peoples were often given the worst land?
The Native peoples were often given the worst land, difficult for any type of farming. The best tracts of land, with fertile soil, were most often given to White settlers. Oxford University Press explains:
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Transcript
Forty-Ninth Congress of the United States of America; At the Second Session,
Who was Henry Dawes?
Aidan Quinn as Henry Dawes. 1816- 1903. Henry D awes was a Senator from Massachusetts. Dawes was head of the Dawes Act (1887) which allow e d for the division of land to the Indians depending on what status they have (i.e. "each head of a family [rec eives] one- qua rter of a sect ion; ...each single person over ei ghteen year s of age [recei ves] ...
What is the problem with Eastman and Dawes?
Also in the film, Eastman and Dawes have an argument over getting the Sioux to obtain deeds to own land. The problem, as Eastman puts it , is that "there isn't a word for 'owning the earth' in Lakota.".
