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Native American Genocide
Wikipedia Category: Native American genocide
Thomas Jefferson and Native Americans
Wikipedia
Thomas Jefferson believed Native American peoples to be a noble race[1] who were "in body and mind equal to the whiteman"[2] and were endowed with an innate moral sense and a marked capacity for reason.[3] Nevertheless, Jefferson developed plans for Indian Removal to lands West of the Mississippi, including forced removal such as that carried out by later presidents in the Trail of Tears.[4][5][6] Before and during his presidency, Jefferson discussed the need for respect, brotherhood, and trade with the Native Americans, and he initially believed that causing them to adopt European-style agriculture and modes of living would allow them to quickly "progress" from "savagery" to "civilization".[2] Yet beginning in 1803, Jefferson's private letters show increasing support for a policy of removal.[1][6] Read more