U.S. History IIThe West and the Gilded Age (1865 to 1898)D2.His.4.9-12
Assimilation and the Dawes Act
Policy shifted to assimilation: boarding schools such as Carlisle (1879) separated children from their languages and cultures, and the Dawes Act (1887) split reservation land into family plots, with the "surplus" sold; Native landholding fell from about 138 to 48 million acres by 1934.
After the wars on the Plains, federal policy changed from fighting Native nations to assimilation: trying to make Native people give up their languages, religions and ways of holding land and live like white American farmers. Reformers who backed it often said they were helping; the nations themselves lost children, culture and land.
🔑 Key idea
Two tools of assimilation: boarding schools, such as the Carlisle Indian Industrial School (1879), and the Dawes Act (1887), which split land held in common by a tribe into family plots and sold the "surplus." Native landholding fell from about 138 million acres in 1887 to 48 million by 1934.
💡 Why it works
Under the Dawes Act, also called the General Allotment Act, a head of family got a quarter section (160 acres) and a single adult an eighth (80 acres). The land was held in trust for 25 years, and those who took allotments could become citizens. Land left over after allotment could be sold to settlers. Many plots were poor for farming, families lacked tools and money, and after the trust ended much of the land was sold or lost. Land held together by a nation had been hard to buy; land held by individuals could be bought piece by piece.
At boarding schools such as Carlisle in Pennsylvania, founded by Richard Henry Pratt, children were often taken far from home, given new names and clothes, and punished for speaking their own languages. Pratt summed up his aim in 1892 as "Kill the Indian in him, and save the man." Many children died at the schools, far from their families. Some students later used their education to defend their nations.
Work it through
✏️ Worked example: Reading the numbers
Native landholding fell from about 138 million acres (1887) to about 48 million (1934). About what share was lost?
Lost: 138 − 48 = 90 million acres.
Share lost: 90 ÷ 138 is about 0.65.
So about two-thirds of the land left Native hands in under 50 years.
Answer: About two-thirds.
⚠️ Common mistake
Many students think the Dawes Act gave Native people more land. It broke up land held in common, and most of the land left Native hands. The policy of allotment ended with the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, which let nations rebuild their own governments.
Practice
Pass with 3 right answers, the last 2 in a row. Each right answer earns 2 XP.