Fifth Grade
Worksheets
Native Americans
Railroad companies laid more and more track for new rail lines after the Civil War. The railroads brought more and more people to the West. These people claimed land that Native American tribes felt belonged to them.
Settlers thought they deserved the land more. Settlers thought that they improved the land by planting more crops on it than Native Americans did. Native Americans thought the settlers were invaders. They wanted to keep living on the land the way that they had for hundreds of years.
Some tribes tried to deal peacefully with the settlers. They attempted to trade and live side by side with the people who were moving into the West. Other tribes signed treaties. Usually these treaties did not last long.
Native Americans did not always understand the treaties. They often did not realize that signing a treaty meant they had to leave the lands they were living on. The treaties divided the tribes. Some members were for a treaty while others did not agree with it.
Other tribes fought back against the settlers. Soldiers outnumbered the groups who tried to fight back. The soldiers also had better weapons. The Native American tribes didn't have a chance.
