der the existing circumstances of affairs, the United States have a clear right, consistently with the principles of justice and the laws of nature, to proceed to the destruction or expulsion of the savages." The use of the word savages shows that the American had irreverence toward other ethnic backgrounds. Henry Knox wanted to destroy the Cherokee tribes in order to gain land for the United States, although he questions the morality of whether to acquire the Cherokee land, his conclusion forebodes the appropriation. According to Document C, "That the Cherokee Nation may be led to a greater degree of civilization,
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