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2.1 Historical Context Introduction: Whites & Indians
James Fenimore Cooper lived in such a time from the late 17th to the early of 18th century. During that time, the American government carried out a series of policies to push the so called national melting aimed to expand its land map and build its dominated position for the whole North American land. The westward movement is the most famous one at that time. We can’t deny that the westward movement really stimulated this new country’s economy as well as the melting of different races in a large degree. But anyone who has learned the American history cannot ignore such a truth that the westward movement brought endless pains for the Indians. Actually this movement can be regarded as a kind of massacre of Indians. According to this historical movement some writers and novelists who believed themselves hold different political point with the government tried to illustrated their real emotions and opinions in their works. Therefor American western literature appeared. These literatures mainly focused on revealing human’s weakness and the fake and unreal aspect of the American dream. Cooper’s The Last of The Mohicans is a perfect representative of the western literature.
2.1.1 The Westward Movement
The well-known Westward Movement in the 19th century is the reclamation movement of wasteland by immigrants on a broad scale as well as a process of economy exploitation and territory expansion waged by the Americans from Appalachian Mountains to the west from the end of 18th century to the 19th century. In 1830, the American president Jackson passed the law, Indian Removal Act, which forced the Indians to settle in the west regions of Mississippi. Then, they were expelled to the regions of Mississippi. Afterwards, colonial activities began to spring in a large scale. Once a while, the number of population was just several thousands. In the meantime, American got more territory, more and more foreign immigrates came to the UAS. In order to develop the western regions as well as solve the food problems and lodging problems, the American government encouraged people to settle in the west and provided many good policies. The well-known Gold Rush happened at that time and famous brand Levis also born then. It is these immigrate that played a dominant role in the Westward Movement and made much contribution to it.
2.1.2 Indians’ Painful Destiny
As the above said, the American government issued the Indian Removal Law as the further development to the west. Reviewing American history at that time, we can easily know that the westward movement is also can be called the history of Indian hardships. Before the movement, Indians’ tribes scattered in various parts of American land. Although at that time the land of colonial countries had been extending, Indian’s lives had not been disrupted so much. After all at the early of American history Indians helped white immigrates a lot and they were once called by the white “The Noble Red Skin”. But then with the development of American industry, the fertile land in the west became a temptation to the east and nothing can slow the American’s step to the west even the natural barriers like Appalachian Mountain, the Rocky Mountain and the Mississippi River. After the policy of westward was issued, American government supported the white immigrants to develop and explore the west and thus more and more people started to move to the west to seek chances and successes. Then Indians’ miserable lives began. Between the 1820s and the 1830s, with the process of the movement, the conflict between the whites and the red became more and more intense, as the whites struggled for land and resources. The peace friendship turned into hostility and endless conflicts. With the series of policies aimed to expelling Indians, the Indian tribes became fewer and fewer. Under the guns and troops of the federal government, Indian tribes were forced to make their trek to the dry plains across the Mississippi. In the long journey, starving, coldness and diseases killed many lives. Therefore, to some degree, those who went to the west took the bloody trail of the Indians, and the Westward Journey can be called “the trail of tears”.