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