The Dawes Act is also known as the General Allotment Act. In this law, the US federal government took Native American land and split it up into specific plots of land given to different families. Before this time, land was held communally and private property was not as popular for Native Americans.
The goal of this law was to assimilate Native Americans. The government wanted these Native American families to become self sufficient farmers. At this time, this was the most popular occupation to have within the US.
The Dawes Act of 1887 (also known as the General Allotment Act or the Dawes Severalty Act of 1887),[1][2] authorized the President of the United States to survey Native American tribal land and divide it into allotments for individual Native Americans. Those who accepted allotments and lived separately from the tribe would be granted United States citizenship. The Dawes Act was amended in 1891, in 1898 by the Curtis Act, and again in 1906 by the Burke Act.
The main incentive to rule in favor of slaveholders when a runaway was taken into custody and brought before the federal commissioner was because such a ruling would technically be upholding a person's "right to property" which was thought to be protected. <span />
