Lewis Henry Morgans Destiny of the Indian

Lewis Henry Morgan aims to convince the reader the importance of the “rescue” of the American Indian, in the article The Destiny of the Indian, 1851. Indians can be reclaimed and civilized, thus saving them from the fate of many other Indians not willing to conform. In the first paragraph, Morgan clearly states his agenda that the Indians need to be rescued from their uncivil ways of life. By educating them on the ways of the white man, the Indians will be able to live a life in unity with the rights and privileges of the American citizens. His last sentence of the first paragraph states his ultimate agenda, “The institutions of the red man fix him to the soil with a fragile and precarious tenure; while those of civilized man, in his highest estate, enable him to seize it with a grasp which defies displacement.

The language and ideas used in Morgan’s article, quickly reveal his intended audience. Morgan intended his reader to be an educated white male, one of wealth and power. This is evident within the first couple of sentences. Once further into the article, Morgan begins to share the direction of the article with religion, wanting the everyday man to adopt his ideas by trying to convince the public that the Indians could be “rescued” or “saved”. By explaining his ideas he was trying to make the public into believers, that there was still hope for the reclamation of the Indians and that the responsibility lies upon them. “The American people cannot remain indifferent and passive spectators, and avoid responsibility; for while the government chiefly accountable for the administration of their civil affairs those of a moral and religious character which, at least, are not less important, appeal to the enlightened benevolence of the public at large.”

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The language used in Morgan’s was appropriate for the intended audience. He tried to come off as well educated and intellectual, which was conveyed in his writing. He attempted to write...