Millions of Native Americans were brutally tortured and murdered by an invasion of foreign forces so as to steal their land and recourses (Churchill,126). Those who were not exterminated were forcefully removed from their land (either at gunpoint, the point of a bayonet or by forged treaties) and driven off to federal prison camps called reservations (source). In the early nineteenth century, whites started moving into what is now the state of Illinois. This movement precipitated numerous clashes with the Indians, including Black Hawk's war. The defeat of Black Hawk removed a large obstacle to white settlement in the Old Northwest.

In 1803, an exploratory push by Lt. Zebulon Pike, an American explorer, into the upper Mississippi valley signified the end of an era for the Sauks and their allies, the Foxes. The Indians debated whether to accommodate or resist the advance of the whites' frontier. One group, headed by Keokuk, a Sauk, argued for accommodation, but Black Hawk, another Sauk leader, fiercely opposed such a policy.

Black Hawk's convictions were confirmed i

The next decade witnessed a steady decline in the fortunes of the Sauks and the Foxes. White population pressures forced the Indians to adhere to the treaty of 1804 and abandon their old territory. By the end of the 1820's, all had been forcibly removed and the lands sold by the state at public auction. Despite this, Black Hawk returned to the land regularly even after it had been sold. He and his followers ventured back in the summer of 1830 without a major confrontation and announced their intention to return the next year. But when the Indians claimed the land in June 1831, they were confronted by hundreds of soldiers who occupied Black Hawk's village, took over his own home, dug up the sacred Sauk and Fox burial ground to make more room for plowing and forced them to sign an agreement to evacuate (Tebbel,243). They were never again to return to Saukenuk and Keokuk was to be their spokesman.

From April until August 1832, Black Hawk and his followers fought the American military, supported by numerous volunteers including miners, farmers, and even the young lawyer named Abraham Lincoln. On July 28th, 1832, a force under General James D Henry engaged the Indians. It was a resounding victory for the Army, on account of Black Hawk losing 68 men (Lewis)

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Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)