Ifthedifferentdegrees—comparativelysoslight—whichexistinEuropeancivilizationproduceresultsofsuchmagnitude，theconsequenceswhichmustensuefromthecollisionofthemostperfectEuropeancivilizationwithIndiansavagesmayreadilybeconceived。]
TheIndians，inthelittlewhichtheyhavedone，haveunquestionablydisplayedasmuchnaturalgeniusasthepeoplesofEuropeintheirmostimportantdesigns;butnationsaswellasmenrequiretimetolearn，whatevermaybetheirintelligenceandtheirzeal。Whilstthesavageswereengagedintheworkofcivilization，theEuropeanscontinuedtosurroundthemoneveryside，andtoconfinethemwithinnarrowerlimits;thetworacesgraduallymet，andtheyarenowinimmediatejuxtapositiontoeachother。TheIndianisalreadysuperiortohisbarbarousparent，butheisstillveryfarbelowhiswhiteneighbor。Withtheirresourcesandacquiredknowledge，theEuropeanssoonappropriatedtothemselvesmostoftheadvantageswhichthenativesmighthavederivedfromthepossessionofthesoil;theyhavesettledinthecountry，theyhavepurchasedlandataverylowrateorhaveoccupieditbyforce，andtheIndianshavebeenruinedbyacompetitionwhichtheyhadnotthemeansofresisting。Theywereisolatedintheirowncountry，andtheirraceonlyconstitutedacolonyoftroublesomealiensinthemidstofanumerousanddomineeringpeople。*t[Footnotet:SeeintheLegislativeDocuments（21stCongress，No。
89）instancesofexcessesofeverykindcommittedbythewhitesupontheterritoryoftheIndians，eitherintakingpossessionofapartoftheirlands，untilcompelledtoretirebythetroopsofCongress，orcarryingofftheircattle，burningtheirhouses，cuttingdowntheircorn，anddoingviolencetotheirpersons。Itappears，nevertheless，fromallthesedocumentsthattheclaimsofthenativesareconstantlyprotectedbythegovernmentfromtheabuseofforce。TheUnionhasarepresentativeagentcontinuallyemployedtoresideamongtheIndians;andthereportoftheCherokeeagent，whichisamongthedocumentsIhavereferredto，isalmostalwaysfavorabletotheIndians。\"Theintrusionofwhites，\"hesays，\"uponthelandsoftheCherokeeswouldcauseruintothepoor，helpless，andinoffensiveinhabitants。\"AndhefurtherremarksupontheattemptoftheStateofGeorgiatoestablishadivisionlineforthepurposeoflimitingtheboundariesoftheCherokees，thatthelinedrawnhavingbeenmadebythewhites，andentirelyuponexparteevidenceoftheirseveralrights，wasofnovaliditywhatever。]
WashingtonsaidinoneofhismessagestoCongress，\"WearemoreenlightenedandmorepowerfulthantheIndiannations，wearethereforeboundinhonortotreatthemwithkindnessandevenwithgenerosity。\"Butthisvirtuousandhigh—mindedpolicyhasnotbeenfollowed。Therapacityofthesettlersisusuallybackedbythetyrannyofthegovernment。AlthoughtheCherokeesandtheCreeksareestablishedupontheterritorywhichtheyinhabitedbeforethesettlementoftheEuropeans，andalthoughtheAmericanshavefrequentlytreatedwiththemaswithforeignnations，thesurroundingStateshavenotconsentedtoacknowledgethemasindependentpeoples，andattemptshavebeenmadetosubjectthesechildrenofthewoodstoAnglo—Americanmagistrates，laws，andcustoms。*uDestitutionhaddriventheseunfortunateIndianstocivilization，andoppressionnowdrivesthembacktotheirformercondition:manyofthemabandonthesoilwhichtheyhadbeguntoclear，andreturntotheirsavagecourseoflife。
[Footnoteu:In1829theStateofAlabamadividedtheCreekterritoryintocounties，andsubjectedtheIndianpopulationtothepowerofEuropeanmagistrates。
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