why the government's policy of assimilation of native Americans was a failure?

Answer 1

Because they didn't want to assimilate the natives, they wanted them either eliminated or at the very least put out of site and powerless.

Answer 2

Assimilation Native Americans

Answer 3

The idea of the original colonists was to live beside the Native Americans. Some had great success with this relationship (Plymouth), while others saw conflict with the European settlers (St Augustine). Up until 1763 - there was a general peace, due to the benefits of trade goods.
The French/Indian War started the downward spiral.
Some events (kinda in order)
-Tippecanoe.
-Lewis and Clark (Sacajawea[Shoshone] was an exception)
-The Spanish withdrawal from Florida (Seminole).
-Monroe Doctrine (from Sea to Shining Sea)
-Jackson at Horseshoe Cheek (Creek).
-1828 GA gold rush (Cherokee)
-Treaty of New Echota an Trail of Tears (Cherokee)
-the riff between the nation and the natives was so bad that the native exiles in Oklahoma sided with the Confederates.
-westward expansion(Osage, Apache, Ute)
The government came in protecting big business, and smashed the natives. The negotiations were swift and deceptive, leaving the natives with empty promises.
The native lands ("unorganized territories") were not made a state till 1907, and voting rights were slowly added afterwards.

The US failures of assimilating Native Americans started before the Revolution, and got worse as the years went on. After WWII some positive recognition began (too late for Jim Thorpe). Through the late 60's and 70's - more attention to the personal and financial plight was realized, and only then did the slow process of healing begin. We still have 2 generations to go, but the steps have started in the right direction.

Answer 4

Assimilation of the Native Americans was a failure because the government made no room for them to retain any of their tradition, culture, or language. Children were taken from their homes at an early age and sent to government run boarding schools where they were forced to give up their native heritage or face consequences. They were forced to live in the white man's world, by the white man's rules, speak the white man's language, and adhere to the white man's traditions. Although, I guess if you were to look at it from a different angle, you could also say that it was somewhat successful just by looking at how many of the native languages and traditions have become extinct since the older generations have died off.

Answer 5

The others are partly correct. Soon after the native people of North America were rendered powerless, placed on reservations, and had thier children forcfully enrolled in school to Americanize them, the field of anthropology came into vogue. In some places during the early twentieth century there was a second age of enlightenment. Native people were looked at as living links to a distant past. They were deemed curiousities, or novelties and suddenly people wanted to know more about them. Many elder members of the groups had died, and younger ones wished to have some kind on happy life, so they learned english and American customs, at the expense of their heritage. People who saw natives as curiousities then sought to preserve what was left of the old cultures, and allowed native people to retain their languages, and some of their customs. However, native people's nuimbers had been greatly reduced and stressed for many generations. Their lands had been taken from them. They were no longer autonomous, but dependants.
The long story made short... the policy to assimulate was stopped by the government that started it. Another strong point is that the native people were disenfranchised and placed on land that could barely sustain them, and in places that very few Americans would ever go. This is a big reason reservation people are poor and unemployed. There are no jobs close by and they have no means to get to one.

Answer 6

Would you want to be assimilated?

They did not want to assimilate the Native Americans they wanted to eliminate them. There was no room for anyone who was different. A really sorry blot on American history.