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What rights did the First Treaty of Fort Laramie give the United States?
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Plains Wars
View of the army camp at Hidden Wood Creek during Lieut. Col. George Armstrong Custer's Black Hills expedition, 1874; photograph by W.H. Illingworth.
The First Treaty of Fort Laramie (1851) was negotiated by the United States to address rising tensions as westward expansion increased following the California Gold Rush.1
Under the terms of this treaty, the United States gained the following rights:
- Territorial Assignment: The treaty assigned specific territories to various tribes throughout the northern Great Plains.1
- Infrastructure Development: The agreement established terms that permitted the United States to build forts and roads within the region.1
While the treaty was intended to forestall conflict, it ultimately failed to prevent further hostilities. Many Indigenous peoples became dissatisfied as the United States exceeded the agreed-upon limits of encroachment on their sovereign lands, leading to subsequent conflicts such as the campaign led by Red Cloud to halt the construction of the Bozeman Trail.1