Effect Of Manifest Destiny On The Neez Perce

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The Manifest Destiny Effect and the Nez Perce In the mid 19th century Americans believed it was their duty to permeate the U.S. boundaries and into western territory. Not only did they believe it their duty as an American, but their divine right to obtain these lands. This is known as manifest destiny, “a future event accepted as inevitable” (Merriam-Webster). At the very heart of manifest destiny, was an obtuse belief in the supremacy of whites. These whites thought themselves to be superior to all race, the kings of humanity itself. Beliefs such as these plagued the minds of many white men leading them to justify the theft of lands from innocent for a reason as inexplicable as the color of their skin and the idea of selfish profit. Land …show more content…

They were the largest tribe in their region. Throughout the seasons, the Nez Perce would travel to different villages depending on the presence of food in a given area. Each year they traveled the same general route coordinating through temporary camps as well as permanent villages for the harsher winter months. Their territory was one without much restriction. During migratory months the Nez Perce were known to travel as far as the Great Plains of Montana for live hunting. Nez Perce were once a people with no constraint and they traveled as they …show more content…

This made it exceedingly hard to have one central chief to deal with the matters of a group so divided. Instead each band had an esteemed headman of their band. When controversial matters came upon the Nez Perce, the groups would send the headmen and respected tribe members such as shamans and elders to council and come to an agreement. During one point in time the Nez Perce tribe was one of the largest thriving tribes in their region. Before the whites came to confiscate their land they lived in smaller groups of thirty to two-hundred members. Sizes of these groups depended greatly on the season and type of social culture each group had. In the very early 1800s the Nez Perce had numbers averaging around 6,000