Pre- and Postdiscussion topics for the Black Hawk Debate

1. Can lands gained from trickery or unfair treatment be legitimately sold by the U.S. government?

2. Did settlers have a right to the land because they paid the U.S. government?

3. Does the U.S. government have any obligation to honor its treaties?

4. Under what conditions is it justifiable for one group to make war on another group?

5. Are lands gained in war the legitimate possessions of the winner?

6. Under what circumstances can a technologically superior group attack another group?

7. Does one group have a right to impose its culture upon another group?

8. When is the use of force justified between groups?

© Illinois State Museum 31-Dec-96