Fort Laramie Treaty, 1851 (AQA GCSE History): Revision Notes
Fort Laramie Treaty, 1851
Background and context
By 1851, tensions between Plains Indians and white settlers had reached a critical point for the American government. The government was eager to expand settlement further westward, but they faced a significant challenge: how to keep Plains Indians and white settlers from coming into conflict with each other. The solution they proposed was the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851.
The treaty represented the government's first major attempt to establish a systematic approach to managing relations with Plains Indian tribes through what became known as the concentration policy.
The concentration policy was a new approach where the government aimed to confine different Plains Indian tribes to specific, separate territories rather than allowing them to roam freely across the Great Plains. This marked a fundamental shift in how the American government dealt with Native American tribes.
Key provisions of the treaty
The Fort Laramie Treaty established several important arrangements between the American government and Plains Indian tribes:
Territorial arrangements: Each Plains tribe would receive its own designated territory, marking the end of the concept of "One Big Reservation" and instead creating separate tribal lands. This was actually the first step towards creating formal reservations, even though the treaty itself didn't establish them immediately.
Safe passage guarantees: White settlers, travellers, and railroad surveyors would be permitted to cross through tribal lands safely without fear of attack. This was crucial for westward expansion and the developing railroad network.
Government presence: The American government gained permission to build forts and roads within Indian territories, giving them a permanent military and administrative presence in these areas.
Negotiation structure: Selected chiefs from each tribe would serve as official representatives in negotiations with the American government, creating a formal diplomatic framework.
Financial commitments: The government promised to provide Plains Indians with protection from white settlers. Additionally, if Plains Indians adhered to the treaty terms, they would receive annual payments of food and money totaling $50,000 per year.
Consequences for violations: The treaty included provisions stating that Plains Indians would face penalties if they broke the agreement, with their people potentially losing the promised food and monetary support.
The annual payment of 1.5 million in today's currency. However, these payments were intended to compensate tribes for allowing safe passage through their territories and accepting restrictions on their traditional way of life.
Consequences and difficulties
The Fort Laramie Treaty faced numerous challenges that ultimately led to its failure:
Communication barriers: The treaty was written entirely in English, and there weren't sufficient interpreters available during the negotiations. This meant that many tribal representatives didn't fully understand what they were agreeing to, creating confusion and misunderstandings from the very beginning.
Critical Cultural Misunderstanding
The American government operated under the assumption that each tribe had elected representatives who could speak for their entire people. However, Plains Indian societies didn't function this way - they had no single leaders with absolute authority. Many individual bands continued to act independently, regardless of what their supposed representatives had agreed to.
Government failures: The American government consistently failed to fulfil its promise of protecting Plains Indians from white settlers. They also failed to prevent American citizens from causing further conflicts, leaving tribes vulnerable and unsupported.
Dependency creation: The treaty established a relationship where Plains tribes became dependent on the American government for food and money. They were expected to begin "behaving in a certain way" - essentially conforming to American expectations of how they should live and organise their societies.
The failure of concentration
The concentration policy introduced by the Fort Laramie Treaty ultimately collapsed, and several factors contributed to this failure:
Widespread ignorance: Many tribal members weren't even aware that the treaty existed, as communication between different bands and tribes was limited. Those who did know about it often chose to ignore its terms and continued moving into territories belonging to other tribes.
Continued migration: Despite the treaty's territorial boundaries, migrants were still able to cross Plains Indian territories without facing significant resistance. However, they often encountered problems along the official trails, and some settlers even established permanent settlements on land that had been "given" to Plains Indians.
Economic Pressures Undermined the Treaty
Cattle drives frequently passed through Indian territories, causing ongoing tensions and conflicts. The discovery of gold in Dakota territory in 1861 brought new waves of settlers and prospectors, while the introduction of railroads created additional disruption and competition for land.
Broken promises: The promised annual payments for sticking to the treaty terms weren't consistently delivered, undermining trust between the tribes and the government.
Example of Treaty Failure in Practice
When gold was discovered in Dakota territory in 1861, thousands of prospectors flooded through Indian lands that were supposed to be protected under the treaty. The government made little effort to stop this invasion, demonstrating their inability to enforce the treaty's protective provisions.
Timeline of key events
- 1851: Fort Laramie Treaty signed, establishing concentration policy and tribal territories
- 1861: Gold discovered in Dakota territory, increasing white settler pressure on Indian lands
- 1860s: Railroad construction begins crossing Plains Indian territories
- 1868: Second Fort Laramie Treaty signed, acknowledging failure of first treaty
The signing of a second Fort Laramie Treaty in 1868 was essentially an admission that the first treaty had failed completely. The second treaty attempted to address some of the problems of the first, but it too would face significant challenges.
Key Points to Remember:
- The Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851 was the government's first attempt to solve Plains Indian conflicts through concentration policy
- The treaty gave each tribe specific territories but allowed white settlers safe passage through them
- Major problems included language barriers, cultural misunderstandings about tribal leadership, and government failures to protect Indians
- The concentration policy failed because many Indians didn't know about or follow the treaty, while the government couldn't keep its promises
- The treaty created dependency relationships and marked the beginning of the reservation system, even though formal reservations weren't established until later