Assimilating the West Slides
Assimilating the West
The Price of Progress & Cultural Erasure
10th Grade American History Unit: The Gilded Age
The Philosophy of Reform
Interpret the Phrase:
"Kill the Indian, save the man."
Think-Pair-Share
What do you think this meant to the people who said it? What does it imply about "Indian-ness" versus "manhood"?
Prediction
Based on this quote, what kind of "help" do you think the U.S. government intended to offer?
Evidence File: Forced Assimilation
Embedded media
Segment Focus: 6:42 — 8:18
- Helen Hunt Jackson: Author of A Century of Dishonor
- Reform Movement: Why did "sympathy" lead to control?
- Boarding Schools: The reality of the Carlisle School.
"The great difficulty with the Indian problem is not with the Indian, but with the Government and people of the United States."
— Helen Hunt Jackson, 1881
The Intent
To highlight broken treaties and government cruelty.
The Outcome
Led to policies that sought to "save" Indigenous people by erasing their identity.
Methods of Erasure
The Boarding Schools
Children separated from families. Languages banned. Long hair cut. Native clothing replaced by military-style uniforms.
The Dawes Act (1887)
Tribal lands broken into small individual plots. Goal: To force Native Americans to become individual farmers and abandon communal life.
Discussion Anchor
"If you take away a person's language, clothes, and family, what is left of them?"
Socratic Seminar: The Reformers
Core Discussion Questions
01
Was Helen Hunt Jackson a true ally to Indigenous tribes, or just a different kind of colonizer?
02
Why did reformers view boarding schools as "compassionate" compared to military warfare?
03
How does the 19th-century definition of "compassion" differ from our modern understanding?
Exit Ticket
Define "Cultural Erasure"
In your own words, define this term based on today's evidence. Then, list one specific example from the lesson that illustrates it.
End of Lesson — Turn in your papers at the door
Socratic Discussion Cards
Socratic Seminar Cards
Lesson: The Price of Progress
Print & Cut Activity
Evidence A
The Reformer's Intent
"The great difficulty with the Indian problem is not with the Indian, but with the Government and people of the United States." — Helen Hunt Jackson, 1881
Prompt:
Was Helen Hunt Jackson a true ally to Indigenous tribes? Does having "good intentions" justify the resulting policies of cultural erasure?
Discussion Card 01
Evidence B
The Philosophy
"A great general has said that the only good Indian is a dead one... In a sense, I agree with the sentiment, but only in this: that all the Indian there is in the race should be dead. Kill the Indian in him, and save the man." — Richard Pratt, Founder of Carlisle School
Prompt:
Analyze the phrase "save the man." What did Pratt believe was "savable" and what did he believe was "disposable"? How does this reflect 19th-century American values?
Discussion Card 02
Evidence C
Defining Compassion
Reformers argued that boarding schools were a "more humane" alternative to the "extermination" of tribes through military warfare.
Prompt:
If the only two choices provided were physical extermination (war) or cultural erasure (assimilation), can we call assimilation "compassionate"? How does our modern definition of compassion differ?
Discussion Card 03
Evidence D
The Dawes Act (1887)
This law broke up communal tribal lands into individual plots. Families who stayed on their land for 25 years were granted U.S. citizenship.
Prompt:
Why was the destruction of communal land-ownership essential to the goal of assimilation? What does this reveal about the American definition of "civilization" in the 1880s?
Discussion Card 04
Socratic Seminar Guidelines
- Sit in a circle. One person speaks at a time.
- Refer back to the quotes on your card to support your claims.
- The goal is understanding, not winning a debate.
- Listen to your peers and ask follow-up questions: "What makes you say that?" or "Where is the evidence for that?"
Cultural Erasure Exit Ticket
Exit Ticket
The Price of Progress
Name:
Date:
1. In your own words, define the term "Cultural Erasure."
2. Provide one specific example from today's lesson (video, quotes, or cards) that illustrates this concept.
Exit Ticket
The Price of Progress
Name:
Date:
1. In your own words, define the term "Cultural Erasure."
2. Provide one specific example from today's lesson (video, quotes, or cards) that illustrates this concept.
