Spread of English-Speaking Peoples 249 



dots, in 1785, though entirely separate nations, 

 claimed and, in a certain sense, occupied almost ex- 

 actly the same territory. 



Moreover, it was wholly impossible for our policy 

 to be always consistent. Nowadays we undoubtedly 

 ought to break up the great Indian reservations, 

 disregard the tribal governments, allot the land in 

 severalty (with, however, only a limited power of 

 alienation), and treat the Indians as we do other 

 citizens, with certain exceptions, for their sakes as 

 well as ours. But this policy, which it would be 

 wise to follow now, would have been wholly im- 

 practicable a century since. Our central govern- 

 ment was then too weak either effectively to con- 

 trol its own members or adequately to punish ag- 

 gressions made upon them ; and even if it had been 

 strong, it would probably have proved impossible 

 to keep entire order over such a vast, sparsely peo- 

 pled frontier, with such turbulent elements on both 

 sides. The Indians could not be treated as individ- 

 uals at that time. There was no possible alternative, 

 therefore, to treating their tribes as nations, exactly 

 as the French and English had done before us. 

 Our difficulties were partly inherited from these, 

 our predecessors, were partly caused by our own 

 misdeeds, but were mainly the inevitable result of 

 the conditions under which the problem had to be 

 solved; no human wisdom or virtue could have 

 worked out a peaceable solution. As a nation, our 

 Indian policy is to be blamed, because of the weak- 

 ness it displayed, because of its shortsightedness, 



