Native Races Act

In 1901 the Senate passed the Lodge Resolution (56Sdoc159), which was later commonly called the Native Races Act. It codified congressional opinion that aboriginal tribes and “uncivilized” people should be protected through laws and treaties that would prohibit selling them opium and intoxicating beverages. The Lodge Resolution did not carry the force of law, but it was an early legal victory for the growing temperance movement. The resolution, written by Protestant evangelistic crusaders at the Reform Bureau, was sponsored by Senator Henry Cabot Lodge. Lodge introduced the resolution on December 6, 1900, and it quickly moved through the Foreign Relations Committee. Lodge brought the resolution before the Senate on January 4, 1901, where it passed with unanimous consent.

As precedent, the Lodge Resolution cited two African ...