The Indian Removal Act Of 1830

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.

The law was passed that all Natives had to leave. Cherokees believed even if they stayed they would still have to deal with all the troublesome White neighbors, therefore their best option was to leave. There was nothing they could do because the whites were too powerful as said in doc 5. “It is argued that they can never remain quiet where they are;n that they will always be infested by troublesome whites; and that the states, which lay claim their territory, will always preserve in measures to vex and annoy them.” The Natives didn’t understand why the white people wanted them gone so bad, because the white people tried so hard to change the Natives culture to make them act like the white people. The Natives changed they way they acted, worked, and how they looked. In doc 7 it says “ The Cherokees have been reclaimed from their wild habits. Instead of hunters, they have become the cultivators of the soil instead of wild and ferocious savages, thirsting for blood, they become the mild “citizens.” The Cherokees were really upset, because not only were they leaving what had now become their norm they were also leaving their land which had been passed down through their family. The Cherokees started a petition to the United States asking for them to fulfill their treaty they had made. In doc 9. It says “ Cherokee people used no violence but humbly petitioned the Government of the United States for a fulfillment of treaty

The Cherokee Indians on the other hand faced conflicts that were not like any of the above Indian tribes. They were the last tribe to fight for their land which was in the Appalachian Mountains. The Cherokees were basically became their own country. They had a developed Republican Government, and their own Constitution. They had many conflicts with America though. For example, they had the same land claimed as Georgia causing a big problem that ended up in the Supreme Court. In this case the judges could not decide who had claim of the disputed land. After this, Andrew Jackson persuaded a small group of the Cherokees to sign the Treaty of New Echota. This allowed the American Government ownership to the Cherokee territory, in return America gave them new land west of the Mississippi River

They cried, they wept, they grew stronger. It was a story of hope, courage, and survival. This was the Trail of Tears. Many events led up to the Cherokee’s removal. The Indian Removal caused the Cherokee indians to move west. A man named Major Ridge struck lots of bargains with the United States. This man, Major Ridge, was one of the native sons, born in 1771, that lived in the Cherokee territory. The Cherokee’s lived in the Christians Eden because they believe their ancestors once lived in the same area. Throughout Major Ridge’s youth years, the Shawnees, Choctaws, Chickasaws, the Creeks, and the United States endangered the Cherokees. Mr. Ridge and his family watched his town get burnt down by riflemen due to picking the wrong side during the American Revolution. The Cherokees watched their world change all around them. The Cherokee population dwindled to 12,000 in 1805, and lost over half their precious land. The United States wanted the Cherokees land, and for them to move west. The Americans offered a path for them to walk down. The Americans developed a policy called civilization which taught the Cherokees how to grow wheat; how to eat meals at regular set times instead of when ever they pleased, how to dress; how to speak English; how to pray in church at certain set times. The United States wanted all the tribes to be equivalent of their white neighbors. Thomas Jefferson states that they could be equal to the whites. John Ross was the future Cherokee chief; he grew

In the year of 1828, the president Andrew Jackson was appointed to the office of the American government with this the fact of the remaining Indians tribes were important which were named “The Five Civilized Tribes” including the Cherokee and with the pass of the “Treaty of Etocha” forced the Cherokee out of the land of Georgia also known as the “Trail of Tears” where thousands upon thousands of Cherokee were killed during the extraction of the Cherokee’s land.

This first hand account by John G Burnett, a member of the 2nd Regiment, 2nd Brigade, Mounted Infantry, was written in 1890 as a letter to his children and paints a descriptive picture of the brutality of the Trail of Tears (“Two Accounts of the Trail of Tears”). The Trail of Tears was a tragic event, but was unavoidable due to the circumstances of the time. Many factors preceding the Trail of Tears have been proven to be catalyst for the tragic event. The Trail of Tears was when the United States Army forced the Cherokee indians from their home and made them move west of the Mississippi. There were people who were for the Trail of Tears and those who were not. Some factors which made the Trail of Tears inevitable were the growing population of America, the attitude of Americans toward natives, and the president of the time.

The Indian Removal Act of 1830 was an act that helped aid the expansion of the United States population into the southernmost states, occupied mainly by Native Americans. The act was a long time coming, especially with President Andrew Jackson, a long-time proponent of Native American removal, at the helm. This paper explores the history leading up to the law, the introduction and passage, as well as the sometimes-tragic implementation of the Indian Removal Act of 1830.

Chief John Ross sent a letter to to the Senate and House of Representatives. In it he stated that a select group of Cherokee members who agreed and wanted to participate in the removal and had false representations of the tribe, signed the treaty when they were approached by men of the government( Ross, Paragraph 2). The U.S. government representatives knew that the Cherokee as a whole did not favor the removal, so they approached the ones the minority of tribesmen who did. The government knew that John Ross was the set leader of the Cherokee nation and they should of have approached him seeing as he was in charge of the tribe's best interest as a whole, not have been

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.

Having little knowledge of the Cherokee removal and the history that took place in this moment in America’s past, the book Trail of Tears: Rise and Fall of the Cherokee Nation by John Ehle, offers an insight to the politics, social dynamics and class struggles the Cherokee Nation faced in the late 1830s. The book was very comprehensive and the scope of the book covers nearly 100 years of Native American History. Ehle captures the history of the Native American people by showing the readers what led to the events infamously known as the Trail of Tears. The author uses real military orders, journals, and letters which aid in creating a book that keeps

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.

The Indian Removal Act of 1830 was a law passed by President Andrew Jackson that provided the funds for the removal of the Indian tribes found in South. These tribes were the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole. Slave states, following the lead of Missouri who in the 1820s forced its Indian population to leave, saw the opportunity to expand their industry in the fielding of cotton by “converting Indian soil into slave soil.” That along with the finding of gold and simply the desire for land in the Southeast was enough reason for them to begin rooting for the expulsion of the tribes. They believed that because the tribes were “uncivilized” they have no right to the land and were not using it properly.

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.

“It gives me pleasure to announce to Congress that the benevolent policy of the Government, steadily pursued for nearly thirty years, in relation to the removal of the Indians beyond the white settlements is approaching to a happy consummation. Two important tribes have accepted the provision made for their removal at the last session of Congress, and it is believed that their example will induce the remaining tribes also to seek the same obvious advantages.” (Jackson, 1830) This quote from President Andrew Jackson showed the happiness of the “white settlers” of stripping the homeland from the Native American people. This was the beginning of something tragic were many died from hunger and disease, The Trail of Tears.

In America’s early years, the Native Americans started to face cultural assimilation because they wanted to keep their traditional culture. The United States did not appreciate Native Americans as they tried to change them to fit the standards they perceived to be the best.  The dominant white male leaders tried to force the tribes into changing who they were. For example, in the 1790’s, the United States started to appoint agents, such as Benjamin Hawkins, to live with these tribes. The purpose of the agents were to teach the tribes how to live like the whites did. To add on, in 1830 the Indian Removal Act was passed, which forced tribes to leave their land if they were east of the Mississippi River and move to the west. John Ross was the leader of the Cherokee tribe at the time. By 1838, the Cherokees left their homeland and headed off towards the unexplored land. They had no idea what was in store for them. The journey was called “The Trail of Tears” because 4,000 Cherokees died. Fortunately, a majority of Native Americans stayed true to their culture and heritage. Moreover, it is important to stay true to yourself, no matter what cruelty may lie ahead. Nevertheless, nobody should have to change theirself in order to fit into society’s strict standards to begin with. These Native Americans  were previously forced to change themselves, but they took the opportunity to escape and have their cultural freedom. If they had not taken this