The Indian Removal Act Necessary

It has been 186 years since the Indian Removal Act was passed by Congress during Andrew Jackson’s presidency. The way other people view Native Americans, particularly the Choctaws and Chickasaws, has changed drastically over time; but how has that changed the way Native Americans view themselves. I plan to explore what it meant to be Native American at the time of Indian Removal and compare it to what it is believed to mean to be Native American today. I plan to look at the cultural attitude that was in place at the time of removal and how the Native Americans reacted and compare it to modern day opinion.

When the precious mineral gold was discovered in Indian Territory, the US government had a new perspective about the Native Americans. Even before the US government leaders had discussed about the Indian Removal Act, which became even more tempting after the gold was discovered.

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

Historically, the people of the United States and the Native tribes couldn’t live together, they fought because the two sides competed for superiority. The United States Government sought to put an end to the violent clashes with the American people and the Natives tribes. A resolution was the Indian Removal Act, with this, the United States became safer, wealthier, and stronger; And the Natives, which they saw as inferior, would leave. This Act wasn’t easy for the Native tribes, they left the land their ancestors had built them, and experienced a long road ahead of them to rebuild again.

In the late 19th century, the American people began to go west. Americans began to pour into the West because of rapid population growth and affordable land (Importance of the West). They were also promised wide open land and to be free of Indians (Importance of the West). The West was in fact not free of Indians, and there were several wars that ensued in Arkansas, Montana, Washington, and California (Youngs).

“I fought through the civil war and have seen men shot to pieces and slaughtered by thousands, but the Cherokee removal was the cruelest work I ever knew”, remarked a Georgia soldier who had participated in the removal of Indian Natives during the mid-1800’s. As a result of the Indian Removal Act, Indian natives have been perceived as mistreated and cheated throughout history. The Indian Removal Act was passed during the presidency of Andrew Jackson on May 28, 1830. This act granted authorization to the president to exchange unsettled lands west of Mississippi for Indian lands residing in state borders. Initially, the Indian Removal Act of 1830 was passed to expand the Southern United State for farmland and to aid the government in furthering our development as a nation. With this plan in mind, the government provided money to establish districts in the west of the Mississippi River for the Indian natives, ensured trade and exchange in those districts, allowed Native Indian tribes to be compensated for the cost of their removal and the improvements of their homesteads, and also pay one years’ worth subsistence to those Native Indians who relocated to the west.

The study of history and the teaching of history has come under intense public debate in the United States in the last few decades. The “culture-wars” began with the call to add more works by non-Caucasians and women and has bled into the study of history. Not only in the study of history or literature, this debate has spread into American culture like wildfire.

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.

“What the Removal Bill did not do was as significant as what it did. It did not define precisely the constitutional rights of any tribe that had been removed. It did not make mandatory the allocation of funds for tribal assistance if Congress wanted the money for anything else. It specified no machinery for carrying out the removal. Also, it made no mention that in 1828 gold had been discovered on Cherokee land at Dahlonega, Georgia, and it drew no lines between state or federal rights” (Jahoda 41).

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;

The 1830's were years of change and uprooting for the Indian tribes in and surrounding Tennessee. They inhabited beautiful lands and tried their best to live peaceful lives. When Jefferson came to administration in Virginia, he quickly gathered that he needed to civilize these people, for they did not live in the same manor he did. He felt he had to punish them for attacking white settlers. When Andrew Jackson became president in 1828, Jefferson's mentality stood out to him. Soon after he was elected he passed a bill to remove all Indians from the east and move them westward. This law, known as the Indian Removal Act, was passed in 1830. Jackson fully believed the Indian nations were standing in the way of white progress and they only way to

The Trail of exiles was a trail of death. The Indian Removal Act was a controversial idea which many people spoke out against. Many protested over the poor treatment of the Native Americans. On the other hand, settlers supporting the Indian Removal Act stated that this will be an advantage to America gaining more land and wealth.

My question is, did the Indian Removal Act cause more anguish for the native tribes of Kansas or the Eastern tribes who moved to Kansas? I think the native tribes had more anguish than the Eastern Tribes because of the Indian Removal Act. First of all, the natives needed space and

A summary comparison of views regarding the Indian Removal Act of 1830, Was it an act of humanitarianism intended to help and save the Native American culture from the white settlers, as Robert V. Remini has argued? Or was his intent to destroy the tribal culture and to get rid of the Native Americans, as Anthony F.C Wallace has argued?

One of the defining moments of President Andrew Jackson’s career, if not the most significant, was the Indian Removal Act of 1830. This was a controversial bill at the time and the impact from it is still felt today. The Indian Removal Act directly led to the displacement of thousands of Native Americans; including four thousand deaths during the Trail of Tears, the forced march from Georgia to Oklahoma. While overt racism played a clear role in relocating Native Americans past the Mississippi, it is possible that other factors were at play. The living conditions in many of the states were poor for Natives and Jackson hoped that giving them a new location to live could remedy these problems while opening the land up for white settlers.