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Native Americans As Slaveholders: Their Hidden Role in the Civil War

Colby Cox

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Published in The History Of Slaveholding Indians: Native Americans As Slaveholder As Participants In The Civil War Under Reconstruction

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The History of Slaveholding Indians: Native Americans as Slaveholder as Participants in the Civil War & Under Reconstruction

by Bill O'Reilly

4.6 out of 5

Language	:	English
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The history of slavery in the United States is a complex and deeply troubling one. While the institution is most often associated with white slave owners in the South, the truth is that Native Americans also participated in slavery both as slaveholders and as victims of forced labor. This little-known aspect of American history sheds light on the complex relationship between Native Americans and the United States government, as well as the ways in which slavery permeated every corner of American society.

Native American Slaveholders

Native American slave ownership was not a universal practice. In fact, some tribes, such as the Iroquois Confederacy, did not practice slavery at all. However, other tribes, particularly those in the Southeast, did own slaves. The Cherokee, Creek, Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Seminole nations, known as the Five Civilized Tribes, were the most prominent Native American slaveholders.

Native American slaveholders typically acquired their slaves through trade with European colonists. They also enslaved members of other Native American tribes, particularly those who were captured in war. The number of slaves owned by Native Americans varied greatly. Some slaveholders owned only a few slaves, while others owned hundreds.

The Impact of Slavery on Native Americans

Slavery had a profound impact on Native American societies. For one thing, it introduced a new form of social stratification into their communities. Slaveholders were at the top of the social hierarchy, followed by free Natives, and then slaves. This social hierarchy often led to tensions and conflicts within Native American communities.

Slavery also had a negative impact on Native American economies. Slave labor was often used to cultivate crops, which led to a decrease in the amount of land available for hunting and gathering. This, in turn, led to a decline in the availability of food and other resources for Native Americans.

Native Americans in the Civil War

When the Civil War broke out in 1861, Native Americans were forced to choose sides. Some tribes, such as the Cherokee and Creek, allied themselves with the Confederacy. Others, such as the Navajo and Apache, allied themselves with the Union. Still others, such as the Sioux and Cheyenne, remained neutral.

Native Americans who fought on the Confederate side typically did so out of a belief that the Confederacy would protect their lands and their way of life. Native Americans who fought on the Union side typically did so out of a desire to end slavery and to protect their own lands from Confederate aggression.

The Emancipation Proclamation

The Emancipation Proclamation, issued by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863, declared that all slaves in the Confederate states were free. This proclamation had a profound impact on Native American slaveholders. Many slaveholders freed their slaves in response to the proclamation, while others refused to do so.

The Emancipation Proclamation did not immediately end slavery among Native Americans. In fact, slavery continued to exist in Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma) until the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution in 1865.

The history of Native American involvement in slavery and the Civil War is a complex and multifaceted one. Native Americans were both victims of slavery and participants in the institution. The Civil War had a profound impact on Native American societies, and the Emancipation Proclamation was a watershed moment in the fight to end slavery in the United States.

The History of Slaveholding Indians: Native Americans as Slaveholder as Participants in the Civil War & Under Reconstruction

by Bill O'Reilly

4.6 out of 5