Ben Franklin and John Smith the Native Americans

In the works of Ben Franklin and John Smith the Native Americans were portrayed with no disregard for feelings. By portraying the Native Americans as savages what were the long term outcomes? First off they were not respected by anyone because they were different in their beliefs. Second they were also thought of as being stupid and not educated correctly. Third they were used for the skills that they knew (i.e. hunt, survive), since white men could not do many of the things Indians could do. I think that when Ben Franklin was writing about the Native Americans it was for people to read and see that they were being treated unfairly. John Smith wrote about how he and his men belittled them and it is hard to say what if any of his writings were true and reliable.

Granted Ben Franklin meant well when writing the "Remarks Concerning the Savages of North America", it was not always taken that way. At the first look he makes it seem like he agrees with what the "white people" were saying about the Indians, but that was not the case. "We should find no people so rude, as to be without any rules of politeness; nor any so polite, as not to have some remains of rudeness." (p226). After reading we realize he suggests that the Native Americans should not have been treated so badly because they did not have the same civility as others. Ben Franklin also thought that the Native Americans should have been welcomed instead of made fun and treated like circus clowns." But if I go into a white man's house at Albany, and ask for victuals and drink, they say, 'where is your money?' and if I have none, they say 'Get out, you Indian dog.' "(p230). He also treated them in a favorable light by opening his mind to their culture. On the other hand John Smith treated them in a negative light by thinking of them as slaves. He used the Native Americans, and not just for work but for supplies and shelter. He would tell them he would give them copper and other things in return for their labor. If you really look closely at how John Smith treated them you would see how history is repeating itself today.

Obviously back in the 1700's if you did not attend school or college you were thought of as being uneducated. Although going to school was important for the white people it was not as important for the Native Americans. The Native's found that it was in fact more educating to teach their young such things as, how to use and live off of the land, how to hunt, and be warriors. "several of our young people were formerly brought up at the colleges of the northern provinces; they were instructed in all your sciences; but, when they came back to us, they were bad runners, ignorant of every means of living in the woods, unable to bear either cold or hunger, knew neither how to build a cabin, take a deer, or kill an enemy, spoke our language imperfectly, were therefore neither fit