ipl-logo

Indian Constitution Dbq

342 Words2 Pages

The Constitution of the United States created in 1787 provided the framework for an egalitarian society where every free white male had equal representation and therefore promoted social happiness. However, in 1787 there were many groups of people in the newly formed United States of America that were not addressed, or even disenfranchised by the new Constitution. This included slaves, free women, and American Indians. Whereas free white males had their liberties fully expressed by the constitution including fair and equal representation, social happiness should include every group within the United States as every person in the States should have a say in government. The Constitution gave hope to a lot of free white males. It ensured liberties and security for those who were addressed in the Constitution and it enabled people to succeed in their ventures. This document gave the Colonists the power to govern themselves. Though through this Constitution not …show more content…

In fact, due to the Constitution’s lack of addressing the Indian situation the U.S. was forced to fight and win the Battle of Fallen Timbers which led to the Treaty of Greenville in 1795. In the treaty, American Indian tribes ceded most of Ohio and Indiana to the United States in exchange for yearly grants of federal money- which only subjugated the tribes further as they are now dependent on the Federal Government. This does not promote social happiness. The Constitution also left the decision of citizenship of African Americans up to the states altogether giving up on the issue of slavery. Those African Americans that were fortunate enough to be free were in a totally different realm than those of the slaves. The free African Americans could be considered citizens of the United States while

Open Document