The Indian Removal Act Of 1830

In 1830, gold was found in Western Georgia. Unfortunately, The Cherokee had lots of land there. Settlers ignored that and began to invade western Georgia. President Andrew Jackson then decided to sign the Indian Removal Act, because he believed that assimilation wouldn’t work. This act gave him power to order the removal of any tribe at any time. In 1835, The Treaty of New Echota was signed, which said that the Cherokee would leave their land and walk to Oklahoma. They refused to leave so after two years, they were forced out. Andrew Jackson and the U.S. Government had many reasons for the removal of the Cherokee people, but the Cherokee also had many reasons for why it shouldn’t have happened. Eventually, their removal had devastating effects on the Cherokee culture.

The Indian Removal Act was affirmed by President Andrew Jackson when gold was found in Georgia. On the trail over 4,000 Cherokees lost their lives and lost their lives because of the cold, hunger, and diseases.

Gold was discovered near Cherokee territory in Georgia. As result, Georgia desired to remove the Cherokees and relocate the Cherokees to lands west of the Mississippi river. This struck a major debate. Andrew Jackson was known to support the removal of Native Americans, so the state of Georgia took advantage of the scenario. With little difficulty, the Indian Removal Act was passed in 1830. The Cherokees did not relocate without a civilized fight. They sent several documents to Congress to argue their case. These documents included three arguments to support the sovereignty of the Cherokee nation. These three arguments were Great Britain saw the Cherokees as separated nation from the Colonists, George Washington saw them as an independent nation, and the Cherokees had the same natural rights as the United States.

The Early American Industrial Revolution and Westward Expansion, two interconnected yet independent occurrences, were significant events in the Antebellum Era. The Early Industrial Revolution utilized new inventions to improve the United State’s economy and change lifestyles (Hakim NN 105; Hakim NN 107). It had offered new opportunities and transformed America 's farm economy into a market economy, which is, arguably, more efficient (Hakim NN 109). While Westward Expansion extended America’s borders, fueled by a popular ideal known as “manifest destiny, it caused many disputes amongst the American citizens, creating complications in Congress (Hakim 62-63). As shown, the Industrial Revolution and Westward Expansion were both major changes for America 's economy, each with its own benefits and disadvantages (Hakim NN 103-109; Hakim 58-59). The Early Industrial Revolution and Westward Expansion promoted and enhanced the effects of each other; the increased production of textiles urged Southern farmers to expand their plantations, which in turn, produced more raw materials for the Northern industrial workers to process (Hakim NN 103-109; Hakim 58-59). While both, as shown above, had improved the economy and allowed some freedom for the workers in free states which would otherwise not have, they also promoted slavery, which, at the time, was an ongoing issue

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

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.

In the 1820s and 1830s, Georgia ordered a cruel battle to remove the Cherokees, who held dominion within the borders of Georgia, North Carolina, Alabama, and Tennessee at the time. In 1827 the Cherokees fixed an basic government. The Cherokees were not only reshuffling their government but also declaring to the American public that they were a free nation that could not be removed without their permission. An angry Georgia legislature responded by intending to extend its authority over the Cherokees living in the states declared boundaries. The state took over the Cherokee lands; overthrew their government, courts, and laws; and settled a process for snatching Cherokee land and distributing it to the state's white citizens. In 1830 reps from Georgia and the other southern states pushed through Congress the Indian Removal Act, which gave U.S. president Andrew Jackson the ability to debate removal treaties with the Native American tribes.

In 1830, the Indian Removal Act called for removal of resisting Southern Native American tribes from their homelands. The tribes maintained resistance. In 1831 and 1832, the Cherokees went to the courts. And in the 1832 decision Worcester v. Georgia, Chief Justice Marshall ruled that the Cherokees had their own land and that they did not need to follow

“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;

In the book, “American History: Beginnings Through Reconstruction” it states, “The Cherokees, however, appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court to protect their land from being seized by Georgia. However, both Georgia and President Jackson ignored the Supreme Court” (Littel 405). This proves Jackson and white U.S. settlers were stubborn, and did not oblige by the law and the Supreme Court. It was unconstitutional to have the Natives removed to western

Indian removal Act of 1830 into law.  This gave the Federal Government the authority to remove Native Americans from their land in the south in exchange for land out west in what is modern day Oklahoma.  The law said that the government had to negotiate fair treaties peacefully.  However Jackson frequently ignored this and forcefully removed the Native Americans from their land.  The Choctaw became the first to lose their land.  In the winter of 1831, they left their land under threat of invasion from the army.  The trip from Alabama to Oklahoma was a brutal and difficult one.  Of the 15,000 Creeks that made the passage to the Indian Territory, 3,000 of them had died.  They had very little food and water, and they received no assistance

Many people had called what he did extending his grasp (In terms of power). Many government processes that were performed were fair. The ones that went against Andrew Jackson’s beliefs were the ones that he did his best to stop, whether fair or not. Andrew Jackson was a believer in Native Americans and African Americans having no rights. During Jackson’s first term, he wrote to Congress saying that he wished to designate a spot west of the Mississippi for the Indians that were currently inside the states. Later during his second term, the Cherokee Nation was asked by the people of Georgia to move out of their fertile land and into lands such as present-day Oklahoma. The Indians refused and took the case known as the Georgia vs Cherokee to court. After going to multiple courts, the case was given to the Supreme Court. Chief Justice John Marshall ruled the Indians innocent and that they were allowed to stay. Jackson believed that the majority of Georgia wanted the Indians out so he kicked them out anyway using a piece of legislation known as the Indian Removal Act. The Cherokee Nation was outraged and said they won the case and wish to stay in the land of their forefathers. However, they were forced to walk the Trail of Tears into an area filled with poor soil and a meager water supply. Although the majority of the people in Georgia

In the Supreme Court case of the Cherokee Indians vs. Georgia, two decisions in 1831 and 1832 discussed that the Cherokee Indians must be protected for as long as they live in Georgia. The state of Georgia saw the Indians as unwanted inhabitants on their land and wanted them ousted entirely. Even though it was ruled that Georgia had no right to remove the Cherokees because of previous treaties made with the Us government, Jackson’s nationalism and views on states’ rights resulted in a policy that eradicated any danger to the unity of America. On the other hand, Jackson did empathize towards the Native Americans. He offered them money to help grant them their own land.