Andrew Jackson Trail Of Tears

Most Americans have at least some vague image of the Trail of Tears, but not very many know of the events that led to that tragic removal of several thousand Indians from their homeland. Indian lands were held hostage by the states and the federal government, and Indians had to agree to removal to preserve their identity as tribes. Trail of Tears is an excellent snapshot of a particular situation and will be eye opening to those who are not familiar with the story of the southern tribes and their interactions with the burgeoning American population. The Trail of Tears has become the symbol in American history that signifies the callousness of American policy makers toward American Indians in 1839 and 1839.

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

Cave’s idea that Jackson overstepped his legislative power and violated the Indian Removal Act as written is that of Robert V. Remini. Remini argues that Jackson did care for the well being of the Native Americans and their customs and therefore did everything in his power to protect them from the white settlers. While some aspects of this argument can be proven, there is far more evidence to support Cave’s proposal. Remini argues that, “the Indian Removal Act did not order the removal of Indians” and that it was “the President’s noble desire to give the Indians a free choice between staying and removing”. He blames the fraud and deception on the state officials that harassed Indians who refused to leave. But, what Remini fails to mention is that jackson regarded state harassment Indians as a useful means of encouraging removal. Jackson continuously warned and threatened the hesitant tribes to sign the removal treaties, “starvation and destruction await them if they remain much longer..”. There were many witness to fraud, coercion, and corruption were used by Jackson’s supporters to negotiate the removal treaties, accordingly, on many accounts, jackson’s agents resorted to extensive bribery of tribal leaders and frequently threatened leaders opposed to relocation. Another point in Remini’s essay was that Jackson truly showed “genuine feelings of concern for their welfare, particularly the poor among them”, but this argument is completely

Tecumseh’s biggest concerns were that his people would not live according to the Prophet which was casting off all elements of the Euro-American society. He believed that his people would turn to alcohol, firearms, and trade goods set out by English ways, which was what the Prophet said, would be detrimental to their ways. No matter what, Tecumseh was going to make sure the Indian way of life would continue forever. He led a revolution of young men who thought the leadership structure needed to be looked over again in order to survive. They fought to make sure The Indians East of the Mississippi to keep control over their home land. Tecumseh tried to visit neighboring tribes to form an alliance to protect the lands held by the Natives. He was successful in the way the Southern tribes would accept the alliance, but unsuccessful with others when some refused to join the reliance, such as the Iroquois tribe.

The Trail of Tears played a part in what is known as the Manifest Destiny, which was the expansion of the colonists to the west. Gold was found on the Cherokee land during the Georgia Gold Rush. The greed that it created was one of the leading causes of the Trail of Tears where thousands of Native Americans were forcibly relocated from their native lands (Cherokee.org). Little did the Native Americans realize that the new nation that was going to be forming around them would affect not only their lives but the lives of their descendants. Even though the Cherokee made efforts to keep their land through the court system and even attempted to assimilate to the American way of life it was to no avail. They tried to agree to treaties with the United States Government. Even though, they were eventually forced to leave their lands. By forcing the Native Americans to abandon their homes, robbing their lands, taking their freedom, and forcing them to adapt and to assimilate into a new land and culture showed how vindictive President Andrew Jackson was regarding the Native Americans. The Trail of Tears was an instance of the United States Government committing genocide against the Native Americans

In the early 1830s, approximately 125,000 Native Americans thrived on millions of acres of land in Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, and Alabama. In the next 10 years, a scarce number of natives lingered anyplace in the Southeastern United States. In 1838 and 1839, the Cherokee nation was brutally forced to give up its rightful land and travel on foot to designated “Indian Territory” in modern-day Oklahoma. Upon this involuntary journey, thousands of Indians faced exhaustion, disease, and famine. This heartbreaking event became known as the Trail of Tears. The Trail of Tears is important to the history of the United States because it is the wickedest human civil rights tragedy to ever fall upon the Native American population, and it was the beginning of the destruction of an entire people.

This debate can be seen in some of the writings of historians Robert V. Remini and Anthony F. C. Wallace. Remini wrote “Andrew Jackson and the Course of American Freedom, ” and Wallace composed “The Long, Bitter Trail: Andrew Jackson and the Indians.” Robert V. Remini contended that Andrew Jackson’s Removal Policy was solely motivated by his humanitarianism, protecting them from annihilation that would be inevitable if he did not intercede. While Anthony Wallace asserts, that is was not humanitarian

The Indian Removal Act, inspired by Andrew Jackson; the 7th president of the US and the enhanced ambition for American settlers to find more land in the southwestern regions of North America. The Indian Removal Act enabled Jackson the power of negotiating removal treaties with Indian tribes east of the Mississippi. Among these tribes were: Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaws and Seminoles. Very few authenticated traits were signed. The Choctaws were the only tribe to agree without any issues. All other attempts resulted in War and blood shed for both white settlers and Indians. The conflict with the U.S. and Indians lasted up until 1837. In 1838 & 1839 Jackson forced the relocation of the remaining Cherokee Indians;

When we look back into history, we are now able to fully comprehend the atrocities the Indians faced at the hands of the historic general and President, Andrew Jackson. It can be seen as one of the most shameful and unjust series of political actions taken by an American government. However, as an American living almost 200 years later, it is crucial to look at the motives possessed by Andrew Jackson, and ask whether he fully comprehended the repercussions of his actions or if is was simply ignorant to what he was subjection the natives to. We must also consider weather he truly had the countries best interest in mind, or his own.

Even preceding his fame from presidency, Andrew Jackson was known for his opposition to American Indians. And although this connotation is assigned to Jackson’s attitude towards the Natives during the decades before he became President, his dominant goal was to maintain the security of the United States. As a military man, he was depicted as a zealous supporter of the removal of the Indians. Once he was in Office, the story goes, he utilized his newly acquired power to extract the Natives from their ancestral homes. One the contrary, during his terms, Jackson proved that upheld the rights of the Natives. However, what is considered to be the most controversial action of his presidency, the removal of the “Five Civilized Tribes” resulted in an abundance of criticism toward Jackson. Although alternatives to this removal were present, some being executed before, the American mindset was simply Natives could nither be assimilated to the “white” society nor requisite protection was possible. The removal, as Jackson concluded, seemed the only possible answer.

On May 26th, 1830, congress passed the Indian Removal Act allowing president Andrew Jackson to kick the Native Americans off their land that was west of the Mississippi River and move them to land west of the Mississippi without the tribes agreeing or even knowing about it (“Indian Removal”). What most people don’t know about the Indian Removal Act is that Congress actually didn’t accept the act and decided that the Act was unconstitutional, but Andrew Jackson ignored that fact and continued to remove the the Indians regardless of what Congress said. Most people also do not understand that the Trail Of Tears wasn’t an actual trail, it was what the path of the Native Americans used after they were pushed off their land by Andrew Jackson. Thousands of cherokees were forced to move westward beyond the Mississippi River. In 1813 the United States started the Battle at the Thames and killed the Native resistance leader Tecumseh, and in 1814 General Andrew Jackson had forced the Creeks (a major cherokee tribe) to hand over twenty million acres of their national land after the revolt at Horseshoe Bend (“Garrison, Tim 85-89”).

Most Americans have at least some vague understanding of the Trail of Tears, but not many know about the events that led to that tragic removal of thousands of Indians from their homeland. Indian lands were held hostage by the states and the federal government. The Indians had to agree to removal to maintain their tribe identities. Trail of Tears is an excellent example of a particular situation and will be eye opening to those who are not familiar with the story of the southern tribes and their interactions with the rapidly growing American population. The Trail of Tears has become the symbol in American history that indicates the callousness, insensitivity, and cruelty of American government toward American Indians in 1839 and 1839.

Robert V. Remini argues that Andrew Jackson’s Indian Removal Act of 1830 was socially motivated by humanitarian impulses, and that Jackson’s actions where driven by the desire to save the culture and populace of the Native

"It gives me pleasure to announce to Congress that the benevolent policy of the Government, steadily

There were Five Civilized Tribes: the Cherokee, the Chickasaws, the Creeks, the Choctaws and the Seminoles. In 1830 the tribes had moved in a direction to live with the whites and adopted the ways of the white man. The Indians resisted suggestions that they should remove themselves from their own land. So, President Jackson urged the Congress to pass the Indian Removal Act, which appropriated funds for relocation, by force if necessary. Jackson sent officials to try to negotiate treaties with the Indians. Some tribes reluctantly signed and prepared to move, but not the Cherokees, who took extensive steps to adopt white ways. The Cherokees fought back by using the law. At first, it appeared they won because the Supreme Court said that legally the Cherokees could not be removed from their land. But Jackson refused to follow the ruling of the Supreme Court. The Cherokees were then forced to leave their lands and go west to Oklahoma. This was called the ?Trail of Tears? because along the journey to Oklahoma more than one-quarter of the Cherokees died. The Seminole tribe took a different route then the Cherokees and they fought back. The war lasted into the 1840?s and the government just decided to give up and let them stay. My father tells me that this was a time the government is already trying to ignore and not acknowledge it as a very brutal and pointless mistake.