The 'Legal' Extermination of Native Americans

Key Insight

The United States' conduct towards Indians showcased a 'purest love of formalities and legalities,' starkly contrasting with Spanish brutality. While the Spanish used 'dogs on the Indians as though the natives were ferocious beasts' and pillaged mercilessly, resulting in partial mixing and adoption of conquerors' ways, the Americans pursued a seemingly more humane, yet ultimately more effective, path to destruction.

Americans would not interfere in Indian affairs as long as they remained 'savage,' treating them as independent nations. They acquired Indian land 'duly by contract,' and if a nation could no longer subsist, they would offer a 'fraternal hand' to lead them to 'die somewhere other than in the land of their fathers.' This method allowed for the systematic removal and destruction of tribes without appearing to violate 'great principles of morality' in the eyes of the world.

This 'marvelous ease' in achieving extermination without bloodshed, quietly, legally, and philanthropically, is presented as an unprecedented form of tyranny. It is noted that 'to destroy human beings with greater respect for the laws of humanity would be impossible,' highlighting the deceptive nature of American policy. This approach ensured that the Indian race could neither be exterminated by overt violence nor prevent them from sharing rights, as happened with remnants of Indian populations under Spanish rule.