The Indian Civilization Fund Act authorized the federal
government to allocate money to instruct Native Americans in
agriculture, reading, writing, and arithmetic. The Act went into
effect on March 3, 1819, and it provided $10,000 per year to
promote cultural assimilation among the nation's Indians. Prior
to the establishment of the Indian Civilization Fund, religious
missionaries had long sought to teach Native Americans about
Christianity and other elements of what they called "civilized"
society. After the formation of the United States, and largely
beginning with the Jefferson administration, the federal
government took an active role in promoting the secular
transformation of Natives. What became known as the Indian
factory system began in 1795 to set standard rates and to
control the behavior of traders and hunters. Indian agents, like
Benjamin Hawkins, and other employees of the federal factory
system, used their presence among the Indians to teach them to
herd cattle, grow cotton, use written laws, ad