Another Zinn Rant

Although Zinn's readings are interesting, I can't help but question what I've learned about history up to this point.  To me his book is like 'the truth' of history; he is not afraid to give it to us straight or worry about judgement.  I found Chapter 7 (the reading on the Native American tribes and Jackson) to be just as interesting as Columbus; mostly because there was information in here that I never knew about.
In the beginning years of Washington's presidency, his secretary of War, Henry Knox, agreed that Indians were the 'prior occupants and posses the right of soil.'   And Jefferson as well said that Indians who lived within state boundaries were not to be messed with, and that any white settlers in their area would be removed.  However, this did not stop the white settlers.  They moved west past the mountains and within 9 years, outnumbered the Indians 1 to 8. 

In past history classes, of course I have read about Indian removal and their sufferings, but that's never really how I ever thought about it.  I would slightly like to blame television for part of this.  When I was younger, there was nothing I loved more than sitting around and watching westerns with my family on the weekends. (Strange, I know.)  While not all of the movies and shows were alike, I always got the sense that the Indians were the 'bad guys' for attacking the white settlers.  I always thought things like 'Why are they attacking?  All these people are doing is trying to pass through their land.'  Today I would love to have a nice house up in the hills with plenty of land around as my source of income.  No city noise, no nosey neighbors, just land all around.  And I know this is how the settlers felt.  However, they didn't realize that the land wasn't theirs.  The government had no right to set up 'Indian territories' forcing them to live here and not there while these new immigrants took over their natural land.

But over the years I am slowly learning the real truth.  Something Zinn opened my eyes to was the real Andrew Jackson and his Indian raids.  Jackson had a 'round about way' of getting what he wanted, but in the end we all know how it worked out.  It still amazes me that what I learned in grade school and what I am learning today about American history are two completely different things.