In recent years, many historians and social critics have condemned the United States for its removal of the American Indians from their land and for the manner in which it did so. No doubt, the atrocities, broken treaties, and massacres that have been brought to light did occur and did hasten the demise of the native cultures, but most of the European- Americans' gains were due to fairly fought, face-to-face battles noted for the courage and fighting skills displayed by warriors on both sides.

It is important, nonetheless, to place the deeds of the white Americans in the broader context of world history. While that context does not and should not exonerate the United States from its harshness when taking the Indians' lands, a review of human migration and empire building throughout the ages tends to place the western migration of American pioneers and...