Pros And Cons Of The Indian Removal Act

The Indian Removal has long been a debated issue. The two sides had radically different viewpoints on the ordeal that helped shape America. The Indians, naturally, were against their removal from their homelands, and they had two major protest against their removal. The first reason was the fact that they were there first by thousands of years only for white men to invade and tell them to live somewhere else because the white men were superior to the natives. The second reason was that the U.S government kept breaking treaties and was forcing out tribes that had gone through the proper channels for their land.

President Andrew Jackson urged the Congress to pass the Indian Removal Act of 1830. The Indian Removal Act was also known as The Trail of Tears. This act gave the government the power to force Native Americans to relocate from their homes and properties to west of the Mississippi River. The government desired their land. “Georgia tried to reclaim this land in 1830, but the Cherokee protested and took the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Court decided in favor of the Cherokee, however, the President and Congress forced the Native Americans to give up their land” (Darrenkamp). Therefore, President Jackson sent General Winfield Scott and armed troops that forced thousands of Indians to move from their native land to modern day, Oklahoma.

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;

But in 1829, Jackson said to Congress that if a state chose to advance it’s power and legislation on the indians that the federal government wasn't required to restrict it. So when the state chose to discontinue certain treaties, Secretary of War Eaton explained in the place of president Jackson to the natives that any of the assurances in the negotiations with the U.S. were nothing more than temporary grants from one power-the United States- to a weaker nation- the Cherokees. Therefore, he declared, there were no certainties in any arrangement that could be considered permanent. This led Jackson to eventually disregarded a key section of the removal act but he also but broke a number of federal treaty commitments to the Indians; some of which he personally negotiated(Cave, 215-216). The Indians thought that the documents that they were signing would actually protect them, but Jackson thought the only way to make his twisted dream come to pass was to make a sense of false security to a group of people who had done nothing to be

The Indian removal act of 1830 significantly impacted the Native American Indians negatively because of the false promise that was made about the relocation, The death’s of many Indians, and The US telling lies about their new home.

One of the main reasons why the Indian Removal Act was wrong is because the Native Americans were living on the land long before the Americans had discovered it. With their time, the Indians built a real nation with it’s own written language, printing press, and newspaper. They had a productive agricultural economy with an iron working industry, and also created their own government (Marshall). Since the Native Americans occupied these lands first, the Americans had no right to take these

The Indian removal was a 19th century course of action to forcefully migrate Native Americans. This originated from tribes living on land east of the Mississippi River being forced to move to the west from their own territory. The settlers were impatient for lands, and had harassed the government to gain more Indian Territory. However, throughout the seemingly “innocent” relocation process majority of Native American tribes were deceived through treaties and terribly treated thus fostering

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

The Indian Removal Act was justified because the Indians were enemies of America. In “Move the Cherokee to Indian Territory” by Jack Andrews, it states, “We should also remember that these Indians have waged war on America since 1775.” This

The Indian Removal Act was passed in congress on May 28, 1830, it was passed by only one in congress. The act was then signed by the president at that time Andrew Jackson. The Indian Removal Act gave Andrew Jackson the ability to negotiate with the Indian tribes for their removal from the southern United States to move to an area west of the Mississippi river. This act resulted with the removal of 5 major Indian tribes; the tribes affected were Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, and Seminole. These tribes were forced to move from their native lands to areas owned by federal government west of the Mississippi River many of these natives experienced harsh treatment and conditions on the way to their new territory.

The Indian Removal act was strongly supported in the south because they want the Indian lands because they found gold in them. Also, the Americans believed in manifest destiny; which is that we the people can use the land or thing better than you so I am going to take. As Jackson said, “I suggest, for your consideration the property of setting apart an ample district west of the Mississippi…” (Jackson document #1). The way that Jackson said those words, it sounded as if he was asking if they want to go and it was optional, but in the real world, the Indians that didn’t leave peacefully had to leave forcefully. The U.S Government thought that the movement was easy and simple, but it actually was devastating and horrific. The movement of those southern tribes resulted in the Trail of Tears and the death of many Indians because the soldiers were taking all the resources sent from the U.S and keeping it for themselves. Even though some people started blaming Jackson for the act he created it wasn’t his fault, because Jackson always believed in majority rule. So before he voted yes on the act he asked the people and the majority of those people said yes so Jackson voted yes on the act. Even though it as only one act it resulted in a huge impact on all

Authorizing the president to exchange unsettled land west of the Mississippi for Indian land within state borders, the Indian Removal Act was signed by President Andrew Jackson on May 28, 1830. Being pursued for nearly thirty years, the relocation of the Indians was desired primarily for pecuniary advantages and the termination of the contention between white settlers and “dangerous” Native Americans. While some tribes accepted their inevitable fate, many resisted and faced harsh government and social brutality. As a result, Jackson’s presidential administration is tainted by the 4,000 lives lost on the Trail of Tears, the separation of the Native Americans from their ancestral lands and cultural ties, and the condemnation of the Native people

The Indian Removal Act stands as one of the greatest mistreatments of the Native population in American history. Jackson supported the Indian Removal Act because he wanted to see Georgia, Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi settled by white Southerners. He thought they would make better use of the land and help strengthen the Southern border of the United States with large plantations.for example “In 1830, just a year after taking office, Jackson pushed a new piece of legislation called the "Indian Removal Act" through both houses of Congress. It gave the president power to negotiate removal treaties with Indian tribes living east of the Mississippi. Under these treaties, the Indians were to give up their lands east of the Mississippi in exchange for lands to the west”. moreover, Jackson even ignored a Supreme Court decision which had been made on the side of Indians against the state of Georgia. By passing and affecting The Indian Removal Act the homelands of many Native-American tribes were swiftly and brutally vacated. In Particular, the eviction of the Cherokee tribe to “Indian territory” was so vicious, it earned the nickname “trail of tears.” This single congressional act destroyed the lives of many people, an uncommon consequence for an act of the American government.

Even hundreds of years later, settlers still viewed the Indians tribes as problematic and wanted nothing to do with them along with wanting them off their land. Likewise, Americans were still trying to convert them to Christianity and longing for them to adapt their way of life after countless years of trying to do so. This was also known as the “Indian Problem” which could be seen all the way back to the United States’s first president (“Trail of Tears”). Removal acts seemed to continue to push the Indians in a certain direction and with each new act that developed, it wanted to push them elsewhere than they previously were before. By this point, the Indian tribes were most likely fed up and tired of these new changes America was forcing upon them. By 1838, president Van Buren had sent General Winfield Scott to remove the remaining Cherokee Indians following the 2,000 that already left the territory. Sure enough, we see the recurrence of disease taking out a majority of the

In regards to the Cherokee people, they had taken every right step by the rules of a Eurocentric society to earn the right to stay on their own land. In 1832 the Worchester vs Georgia took place. The plaintiff, the Cherokee Nation won the case. John Marshall declared they were considered a distinct community with clear borders and had the right to govern their own territory. However, Jackson ignored this and went on to remove the Cherokees forcefully. Since what Jackson did was against the ruling of the court his acts were their fore unconstitutional. Since the Indian Removal Act, in regards to the Cherokees, was fundamentally stealing, the act cannot be justified (document I).