As the U.S. population began to expand into the west, they came into increased contact with the Indian tribes. The issue of American expansion and opposition from Indian tribes had always been a constant topic of debate in the U.S. congress. Some men adopted the Jeffersonian idea and argued that tribes that became "civilized" could be assimilated into the nation. Others urged for the complete removal of Indian tribes from U.S. territory. The conflict came to the front stage when Andrew Jackson assumed office. Jackson's vision for the future of the nation, and that of democracy had no room for Native Americans in U.S. territory, and thus believed that the best course of action for the country was for the forceful relocation of Natives west of …show more content…
Jackson believed that Indian sovereignty threatened the nation. For example, the Cherokee Nation attempted to establish an independent government in Georgia and Alabama. Jackson saw this as a complete violation of the Constitution's statement that "no new State shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of any other State (Norton Mix, 140)." In addition, Jackson claimed that if the Natives remained in the country, this would result in nonstop warfare, which would lead to the inevitable desecration of the remaining tribes. He then argues that the nation's sense of "humanity and national honor demand that every effort should be made to avert so great a calamity (Norton Mix, 141)." By stating this argument, Jackson takes on a sympathetic approach, in an attempt to justify the removal of the Indian tribes to the west of the Mississippi River where they "may be secured in the enjoyment of governments of their own choice (Norton Mix, 141)." With this speech, Jackson is able to persuade a divided congress to pass the Indian Removal Act of 1830, calling for the voluntary removal of Indians from their
Andrew Jackson was a General in The United States army, and the 7th president, throughout his presidency he experienced many struggles with the Native Americans like wars and land disputes. In the 1830s he wanted to end these conflicts so he put in place the Indian Removal Act of 1830. I believe Andrew Jackson rightly and correctly removed the Indians. Even though many Indians died along the way Jackson had a reason behind what he did and should not be to blamed for their deaths.
Robert V. Remini shows that Andrew Jackson’s Indian Removal Act benefits the Native Americans. Andrew Jackson made notice of the issue with the Indians in his inaugural speech on March 4, 1829. He declared that he wanted to give humane and considerable attention to the Indian’s rights and wants in respect to the government and people. Jackson knew that meant to get rid of all remaining tribes beyond the Mississippi River. He (Jackson) believed that the Indians would be better off in the west; without the influence from the white man or local authority. Jackson hired two Tennessee generals to go visit the Creeks and Cherokees to see if the Indians would leave voluntarily. In that, those who did not leave would be protected by the
On May 28, 1830 the president of the United States of America, Andrew Jackson signed the
The second incident where Jackson stood by his solicitude for state rights was in the removal of the Indian tribes. Jackson has been associated mainly with his decision to support Georgia in its efforts to remove the Cherokee from their land, despite a Supreme Court ruling against the state. However his enthusiastic support for Indian removal was "undoubtedly one of the reasons he swept the southern states in the 1828 election" . Jackson had Native Indian policy on his mind from the beginning as he saw that Indians were subject to American sovereignty and that national security demanded they be removed. Removal to the West would increase the security of the US from outside attacks. Upon
Jackson had no sympathy for the Native Americans and during his presidency, it became a national policy to remove them by force. After independence, the United States created treaties with the tribes so there would be less conflict. Despite these treaties, Native Americans were still being pushed off. “The law did not say that Indians should be removed by force, and in 1831 the Supreme Court ruled that Indians have a right to their land. An angry Jackson disagreed. Groups that refused to move west voluntarily were met with military force, usually with tragic results.”(Hart, 2005) This quote shows that Jackson would do what he wants even if it isn’t right. When the Native Americans tried to defend their land cruelty occurred. Under president Martin Van Buren, more than 17,000 Cherokee were taken from their homes in Georgia and were sent west. “A soldier who took part in the Cherokee removal called it ‘the cruelest work I ever knew.’”(Hart, 2005) This shows that even some of the people that took part in it thought that it was cruel. Though this was not while Jackson was president, he was the one that started the mass removal of Native Americans so he was to blame for the cruelty that ensued after his presidency. Some might argue that Jackson was only trying to get more land for the settlers and that the Native Americans had a long time to
The United States expanded rapidly in the years immediately prior to and during the Jackson Presidency as settlers of European descent began to move west of their traditional territories. White settlers were highly interested in gaining Native American land and urged the federal government to allow them to obtain it. President Andrew Jackson encouraged Congress to pass the Indian Removal Act in 1830, which gave the federal government the authority to move consenting eastern Native American tribes west of the Mississippi River. It has been debated whether the Indian Removal Act benefitted or harmed the welfare of Native Americans, and it can be argued that the Indian Removal Act of 1830 had an extremely negative impact on the eastern Native
The Cherokee Indians are one of the most well-known American Indian tribes here in the U.S. However, once the Europeans came to the new world and started to expand their territory, this did not bode well for them. Many tribes were enraged by the expansion into Native American lands. Even when the Europeans had promised that they would not encroach onto their lands. Gold was said to be on the lands of the Cherokee and this made the Europeans want to break their promise to the Indians even more so now that they knew that gold was said to be there.
When Andrew Jackson became the president of the United States, he had in mind to remove Cherokee Indians from their society and place them on new lands provided by the Louisiana purchase. A bill was signed in 1830, known as the “Indian Removal Bill”, which made Cherokees migrate from Georgia, westward of the Mississippi river. The Cherokees had to be moved from their lands because the environment they were leaving in was not suiting them well and they were becoming a threat to the new government established by the United States.
Andrew Jackson was the seventh president of the United States, he won the presidential race for his support of farmers and workingmen. His role as president led him to pass nine treaties and Indian Removal Act, although everything he passed was not what was promised. There are now questions about what the removal was, how Jackson got it passed, and is it what the Indians expected it to be? President Jackson got the Indian Removal Act passed on May 28, 1830, when it was passed it said that the move west would be voluntary and peaceful, although Jackson and his administration had other plans for the Indians and their land.
As Southerners expanded west into the land of the Cherokees, Creeks, Choctaw, and other Indian nations the United States overlooked and abused the Indians. The Federal Government decided to force them out of their land, making the land available for white settlements. Andrew Jackson played an important role in the Indian removal. He had a complicated relationship with the Indians due to the controversial issues on the Indian Removal Act.Consin Jackson forced Congress to pass this act since he believed that it would not only benefit the Indians as well as America. The Indians, as well as others, disagree with the government's thoughts and beliefs, however, most had no say in the ruling of this Act. The passing of this act brought conserved throughout the entire country, as some Americans believed the Natives were subject to these new state legislatures while others believed the
In 1830 Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act. The Indian Removal Act, also known as the Trail of Tears, gave the power to forcefully remove Indians from their land east of the Mississippi river to the west of the Mississippi. Though Jackson is now hated for this Act, in the 1830s it was seen the most necessary thing to do. In document 41 Jackson states, “It will separate the Indians from immediate contact with settlements of whites…” To average Americans, mostly white men, Indians took up the space needed to settle and stood in the way of American progress. It is obvious that the Mississippi River was beneficial to anyone who was looking for settlement for the purpose of transportation, trade, farming, etc,. With that being said, Jackson and other White settlers thought that it was necessary to gain ownership of the Indians’ land one way or another. For this reason, Jackson was someone who kept his word and was all for the common man. Citizens loved the fact that Jackson was able to take control and relate to the former president, George
Andrew Jackson was convinced that he was helping the Natives by forcing them out of the land they have thrived on for many, many years. He believed that by doing this, the Native Americans will “enable them {Native Americans} to pursue happiness in their own way” (Document A). This statement is not true because the Natives were already content and secure on the land they resided on. By removing them, he took away their happiness. Native Americans treat their land as if it is their own child, so the Indian Removal Act was very depressing for them. Jackson also said that by removing the Indians, it will prevent a war between the two groups. This is a false argument because instead of preventing a war, it actually sparked many wars between the two groups. While this was very saddening for the Natives, it was very good for American citizens. By conquering this land, it allowed the states “to advance in population, wealth, and power” (Document A). It allowed the Americans to gain gold and let them expand America as a whole. The Cherokees did not want to be removed from their land. In Document B, the Cherokees state that they want to “remain on the land of their fathers” because they feel that
Before the passing of the Indian Removal Act of 1830, lands west of the Mississippi River were Indian territory. Americans were not to settle on those lands or invade into the Indian’s space. Andrew Jackson was interested in having these Indians removed from this land to use it for American expansion. At first he explained that by removing indians from this land whites would be less likely to experience any dangers that these people could bring. Also he felt that Americans could better populate the land and create cities and towns to make the land more useful. With the settlements of powerful cities and towns, Jackson believed, that the land would be less likely to be invaded and if invasion was to be brought into the and there would be
Andrew Jackson was elected in the same year to find a solution to the problem. In 1830, Jackson gives a message to Congress on Indian Removal. In this speech, Jackson says, “The consequences of a speedy removal will be important to the United States, to individual States, and to the Indians themselves.” Jackson believed that Indians should be removed for the better of everyone, even the Indians themselves. The question, “Can Georgia assert power over the Cherokee Indians?” was presented to the Supreme Court in the 1831 Cherokee Nation v. Georgia and 1832 Worcester v. Georgia. In Cherokee Nation v. Georgia Chief Justice John Marshall defined the Indians as “a domestic, dependent nation”, and in Worcester v. Georgia, Marshall stressed
As the 19th century began, land-hungry Americans poured into the backcountry of the coastal South and began moving toward and into what would later become the states of Alabama and Mississippi. Since Indian tribes living there appeared to be the main obstacle to westward expansion, white settlers petitioned the federal government to remove them. Although Presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe argued that the Indian tribes in the Southeast should exchange their land for lands west of the Mississippi River, they did not take steps to make this happen. Indeed, the first major transfer of land occurred only as the result of war.