U.S. History Like Many Colonialism

U.S. History

Like many colonialism stories, the history of the United States and its colonialism is a somewhat violent one, in which both individuals and nations collective were oppressed on the basis not only of race, but also of the drive to possess land. The effects of this can be seen not only in terms of the Native American issue and the destruction of whole nations and lifestyles, but also in terms of slavery and the African-American issue. Western expansion and its effects on slavery have an interesting history. Indeed, the slavery issue was so strongly debated between the two opposing groups -- slave owners and those who believed the practice should be abandoned -- that it was inextricably linked to the success of the expansion effort.

The process of expansionism took place throughout the United States for most of the 19th century. Slavery and territorial expansion were linked every time when expansion took place. The issue was unavoidable, and the Senate was under continual pressure to find a balance between slave states and free states in its expansion program.

North-western expansion took place as a result of negotiations, purchases and land cessions; processes that took years. Most negotiations took place with Indian tribes who were living in the territories at the time, particularly tribes such as the Cherokees and Choctaws. Some tribes ceded their rights to the land without protest, as in the case of Virginia in January 1792. It gave up the right to control the land between the boundaries of the eastern bank of the Mississippi.

This expansion was not however without violence. Some tribes refused to acknowledge U.S. sovereignty, and took to violence against the white colonists. Such battles occurred with the Miamis, the Delaware and the Shawnees. Clashes with such tribes occurred especially in Indiana and Ohio. The opposing tribes formed a Western Confederacy, led by the Miamis. The aim of the Confederacy was to oppose colonialist efforts collectively.

This opposition occurred mainly from 1784 to 1790, when Indian raids took place in Pennsylvania, Georgia and Kentucky. Many frontiersmen and settlers were killed during these raids. The violence culminated in the battle of the Fallen Timbers during 1794, when the Indians were defeated by U.S. soldiers. They were obliged to surrender and accept the Treaty of Greenville in 1795. The treaty provided the colonialists with the right to settle I the state of Ohio, and the Indians only with the right to maintain their territory in the north-western corner of the state.

Under the North-Western Ordinances, settlers were guaranteed certain rights, which would become constitutionally guaranteed later. They received the right of freedom to religion, the right to a jury trial, and the permanent abolition of slavery in these territories.

As a result of the expansion effort, slavery was abolished either directly or progressively in some states. In Pennsylvania, an abolition law was passed in 1780, while the Constitution of Massachusetts declared that slavery was unconstitutional in 1783. Rhode Island and Connecticut followed a progressive program instead, emancipating slaves gradually rather than directly. Usually, this meant that children born after the law was passed were free after they reached the age of 18, or 28 in some cases. A third option was for slave owners to give their slaves freedom on an individual basis.