“The most destructive law” to the American Indians which barely passed May 28, 1830 was known as the Indian Removal Act, and later was known as the Trail of Tears. In 1803 President Thomas Jefferson brought up to Congress that all American Indians “be encouraged to move voluntarily from their lands east of the Mississippi River.” For some time, many American Indians began their new venture and voluntarily started to move. President James Monroe also agreed with Thomas Jeffersons’ ideas and convinced Congress to move on with the process. Thomas Jefferson and President James Monroe both believed “that the Indians could survive only if removed to the east, where they could have time to be civilized.” Thomas Jefferson himself defended the …show more content…
These tribes included Apalachicolas who had separated from the Creeks and the Seminoles. Several other smaller tribes including the Sauks, Foxes, Kaskaskias, Peorias, Potawatomis, Miamis, Senecas, Wyandots, Shawnees, and Chippawas and many more. There were many severe consequences from moving most of the population across the Mississippi River. Deaths and armed resistance cause for a decline in the tribal population. Enforced encampments with unsanitary conditions, and epidemics caused from influenza, cholera, and small …show more content…
During 1835 until 1842 The Second Seminole War occurred and The Third Seminole War between 1855 until 1858. Seminoles were a “confederacy of multiple clans” which consisted tribes of Lower Creek, Oconee, Yuchi, Alabama, Choctaw, and Shawnee who lived in southern Georgia and northern Florida. After the First Seminole War the Georgia-Florida frontier was not peaceful. Seminole men and women were attempted to be relocated but were resistant. In December of 1835 Maroons and Seminoles started an attack in North Central Florida against United State troops which ended up killing more than 100 of their soldiers. Moving back and forth between Florida and Southern Georgia the Seminoles were able to confuse their enemies. Along the way they were able to set up refuge in the Okefenokee Swamp. In August of 1836 Ware County militia Commander Thomas Hilliard said to his superiors “the Seminoles go concealed as much as possible, and are committing depredations continually, robbing our corn fields and killing our stock.” November of 1838 Georgia Governor George R. Gilmer had said that General Charles Rinaldo Floyd “would destroy or drive from the state the savage enemy.” In November of 1838 Floyd and 300 officers and privates waited at the southeastern edge of the Okefenokee Swamp before entering a week later. After only seeing a few Seminole and found an Island that “housed 150 Seminole.” After, the Second
People move to places where they know is strong and independent, with strong and leading rulers. In 1806, Thomas Jefferson wanted to expand west to have more land and more people move there and start farming and making new products, etc… when Thomas Jefferson wanted a land, but some people were living there, so he said that Americans would move there, and as for the original residents, they will be independent, and uncivilized (Document 2). Later in 1829, Indian Removal Act happened, Andrew Jackson wanted the land so he offered to the Indians who lived there at the time, to take their land, and give them another piece of land where they can all move and live there, because he wanted to take the more fertile and better land (Documents 5). This
There have been numerous debates about whether the Indian Removal Act that lead to the Trail of Tears was justified or not. Some said it was necessary for the expansion of the United States, others believed it was unconstitutional. Regardless, through identifying the positive effects on Andrew Jackson, the Indians, and the negative effects on both sides of the act, it will help to come to the conclusion whether the act was necessary. Not only will this be achieved by weighing the benefits and disadvantages, but by looking at why Jackson presented this as an option, and what were his true intentions.
Osceola and other chiefs attended the Fort King Conference in 1834. This was another attempt by Wiley Thompson to persuade the Native Americans to sign the new treaty-- Thompson wanted Native Americans to accept the government’s demands. However, when Osceola refused to sign the treaty, Thompson threatened Osceola saying that he would cause bloodshed if they didn’t agree. In response, Osceola stabbed the treaty with his knife and replied, “this is the only way I will sign.” He was then arrested for his defiance. Osceola felt repeatedly humiliated as he was continually arrested for standing up for Seminole rights. With a small raiding party, Osceola waited in the woods near Fort King (Osceola Historic). The war was imminent after Osceola and his men killed Wiley Thompson and Chief Charley Emathla on December 28, 1835. He gathered fellow Seminoles and runaway slaves to help him fight in the war (Osceola Encyclopedia). Osceola’s fight against the US government included the Native Americans who assisted white men. When Osceola found out about the whites at Fort King receiving cattle from a Seminole chief, he couldn’t let that stand. He killed that Seminole chief for being a traitor to their tribe (Osceola Chief). This hate for anyone connected with the whites exemplified his contempt for the foreigners trying to take their land. When he would attend a meeting with American officials, it was difficult not to leave “disgusted and dissatisfied” (Osceola Chief). The injustices originally attempted by the US government caused Osceola to disdain their actions. Many Seminoles felt the same way Osceola did. They fought long and hard to keep their land during the war. They moved their families to the Everglades for safety and used guerrilla tactics causing a fierce war (Editors). Major General Thomas Sidney Jesup sent troops to Osceola’s camp to capture and imprison him. As they
During the war of 1812, the Creek Indians cold-bloodedly murdered more than 300 men, women and children. They were burned alive, scalped and straight out killed. In 1830, Andrew Jackson passed an act called the Indian Removal Act. This gave the power to the president to negotiate treaties with the Indian tribes, such as the Choctaw and the Cherokee. Andrew Jackson proposed a treaty that would give Indian land to other Indian tribes.
General Jesup, not wanting to lose the advantage he gained, continued to hound the Seminole Tribes as they moved south. More and more of the cattle and horses that the Indians needed to survive was being taken away, while the Army continued to suffer loosing men as the Seminoles doubled back around to ambush the patrols. The Seminole people needed a respite and a chance to slip away into the swamps to lose the Army. Chiefs Alligator, Billy Bowlegs, and Abiaca came up with the plan to allow some warriors to be captured like before, and to allow the enemy to believe they were desperate and camped in a location close to Lake Okeechobee. As they believed the white men would act as they always had, they would listen to the captives and fall into another ambush, taking the bait and committing a large amount of their forces and get slaughtered (Gray, 2011). This was not to be the case. Colonel Zachary Taylor, a veteran of the early conflicts with the Seminoles and wary of their tactics, captured the Indians. Colonel Taylor knowing this was his opportunity to strike, took over one thousand troops with him and marched south down the Kissimmee River towards Lake Okeechobee in late December 1837 (Encyclopedia of American Military History,
At that time, many of the tribes in Florida were removed by the presence of Hispanic people. The first usage of the name “Seminole” was recorded shortly after the upper creeks from Alabama settled in the Tampa area. Today, the government now functioning under a county charter initially started in 1989 and altered in November, 1994.
He wanted to end negotiations with the Cherokee Indians. Jackson alongside other politicians pressured the federal government into extinguishing the Indians and removing them from Georgia. The Treaty of New Echota, which is another factor that contributed to the removal of the Indians. A latter group consisting of Major Ridge, John Ridge, and Elias Boudinat, signed the treaty without the consent of the Cherokee Indian representative, or the Cherokee government. This treaty requires the Indians to relocate the Cherokee nation from Georgia, to and Indian reservation in 2 years. Regardless that the treaty was not signed by anyone affiliated with the Cherokee government, the treaty was still ratified. The movement was enforced by soldiers and was known as the Trail of
In May of 1830 President Andrew Jackson passed the Indian Removal Act. This act was intended to expand the Americas into Indian territory and then relocate them west of the Mississippi. The “Five Civilized Tribes,” that included the Seminoles, Choctaws, Chickasaws, Creeks, and the Cherokees. All these tribes went voluntarily except for the Cherokee.
Andrew Jackson, the seventh president of the United States, came to power with one important promise to the American people: the removal of Indian tribes “to make room for the whites”. This Indian Removal, conducted in the 1830s, affected all Indian tribes, and they responded in various ways. Some were ready to move to the west and follow orders, tired of resisting the whites and knowing that there was no other way out. However, several tribes stood on the land of their ancestors and fought to remain where they were. One example of the latter was the focus of study for chapter ten—the Cherokee nation. The Cherokee resisted movement to the west through various treaties and pleas, but were eventually moved out due to military force and strong commands from the president.
They massacred 300 men, women, and children at Fort Mims during the War of 1812. As a rule, if a group of people killed 300 other people, they would not want to live near the killers. Cherokees captured Americans and killed them in various ways. For example, they would tie them to a wooden stake and burn them alive, or cut a deep line above their eyebrows and peel their scalp off. Generally, if a group of people went and peeled someone’s scalp off or burned them alive, they would be considered a sadist, or someone who enjoys other’s pain. Others argue that the Indians were there first, which they were, for over a hundred years, but the Indians were mass murdering Americans, so it was kill or be
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;
Indian Removal (Zinn Chapter 7) Once the white men decided that they wanted lands belonging to the Native Americans (Indians), the United States Government did everything in its power to help the white men acquire Indian land. The US Government did everything from turning a blind eye to passing legislature requiring the Indians to give up their land (see Indian Removal Bill of 1828). Aided by his bias against the Indians, General Jackson set the Indian removal into effect in the war of 1812 when he battled the great Tecumseh and conquered him. Then General, later to become President, Jackson began the later Indian Removal movement when he conquered Tecumseh¹s allied Indian nation and began distributing
The tribe was also told to move further west. They were to merge with the Creek, who they had derived from. The Seminoles strongly combated with the government’s rulings and fought often. They were responsible for the Dade massacre, which is when they ambushed the US army in late 1835, killing hundreds of soldiers. Florida began to prepare for war as soon as they realized the newly emerging strength of the Seminoles.
In 1830, congress passed President Andrew Jacksons Indian Removal Act. This policy allowed the United States government to extinguish the Cherokee, Chickasaws, Choctaws, Creeks, Seminole and many other tribes title to their land. The Indians had to leave the land and life they had always known in the Southeastern United States behind. This disturbing event was named the Trail of Tears because many Native Americans died during the process of marching to an area west of the Mississippi River due to disease, starvation, and the long journey.
In 1830, the Jackson administration instated the Indian Removal Act. This act removed the Native Americans from their ancestral lands to make way for an increase of additional American immigrants. This act forced many Native American tribes from their homes including five larger tribes, Cherokees, Chickasaws, Choctaws, Creek, and Seminole. These tribes had populations were estimated to be around 65,000 people strong that lived in North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi. (Foner, 2012) The American Indians fought for their rights and beliefs through the American court system. Their other objective other than fighting for their rights was but in the end, they were forced out of their homes to move