The attitudes of white Americans toward native Americans before civil war?

Answer 1

Negative in the south and some what positive in the north

Hey I'm doing GCSE history so maybe I could help.

White Americans believed the Indians were:

• Less educated and developed because they believed in medicine men.
• Primitive, illiterate because they didn't send their children to school
• Savages because they didn't understand why warriors scalped their enemies.
• Uncivilised because they wouldn't sell their land as they believed land could not be owned, sold or bought. Also used all parts of the buffalo.
• Sinful as polygamy was allowed in the Indian culture.
• Lawless- Whites didn't understand there was a lack of government, Law and Order.
• Cowardly-the Indians used to count coup.
• Cruel because of exposure of the elderly.

Before the civil war the whites were more linient with the Indians but once people started moving west and cattle ranching began the government saw the Indians as an obstacel for example in 1874 when gold was found in the Black Hills and the Sioux would not sell the land. people in the west wanted the utter destruction of the Indians and beleived the US Army shold deal with this and people in the east had a negotiating view and though the best way of dealing with the Indias was to turn them into ''civilized'' Christian farmers.

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

In the post civil war era, Native Americans were attacked on cultural grounds rather than racial ones. Native American children were forced to learn English in designated native schools and were forbidden to practice traditional ceremonies.