4. Broken Treaties
Throughout the nineteenth century, the U.S. government made and subsequently broke numerous treaties with Native nations. Promises of land and protection were routinely dismissed when convenient for expansionist interests, leaving Indigenous communities dispossessed and betrayed. As Smithsonian Magazine notes, these repeated violations eroded trust and shattered any hope for peaceful coexistence. The cycle of broken agreements became a defining feature of U.S. policy, deepening the wounds of removal and loss.
