Indian Removal Act Justified

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What would you do if you had to move away from your home, would you move or would you stay? The Indian Removal Act of 1830 was an act on behalf of president Andrew Jackson to remove the Indians from the U.S. territory to a new Indian territory. The act was made to allow the Indians to leave voluntarily and peacefully, but if the Indians don’t move, they will be forced to move by the U.S. government and their army. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 wasn’t justified because of the Indian economy, the harmful journey, and the little support for the treaty. To start off, the Indian Removal Act wasn’t justified because of the following reason of the Indian economy. The Indians had actually created a whole economy and they were the first ones to …show more content…

According to Joan Marshall and PBS, these articles showed us how the Choctaw and Creek tribes were treated. The tribes were robbed of their property, and because of the long journey, food started to deplenish and a disease started to spread. These affected the Indians a lot and eventually lead to death. On the other hand, people that may oppose to this by saying that the Indians did have time to prepare. The U.S. had gave them time to gather all of their belongings and during that time, why didn’t the Indians think of the many different things to pack so that they’re prepared for the long journey ahead of them. But, if you think about it, there was no time given. Going back to the PBS article, when the other tribes were forced out of the territory, they weren’t given time to gather their belongings and prepare. The Indians were being forced out of the territory, the U.S. did not let them leave on their …show more content…

The treaty was an agreement that the chiefs had to sign to agree that they will move to the new Indian Territory. But not too many chiefs signed the treaty and it ended up having very little support. From the article by Joan Marshall, it showed how the treaty was weak and barely had any support. Especially when it talked about how only a little percent of Indians actually agreed with the treaty and moved on their own. Also from the PBS article, it states that just because the Indians did not move, the U.S. had to send thousands of army troops to escort them out of the territory. The U.S. had to send thousands of troops because a lot of Indians stayed and disagreed with the treaty. Unlike the people that agrees with the act not being passed, others may think that the Indians that did move were better off without the Americans. That way, they can be under their own government and create a new agricultural economy. But, going back to the Joan Marshall and PBS article, the people that stayed in the territory were very happy because that was their home. Also, those who stayed, did not die from hunger and diseases that were spreading around.

That is why the Indian economy, the harmful journey, and the support of the treaty to remove the Indians are the reasons why the Indian Removal Act of 1830 shouldn’t be justified. The Indian economy was created and the U.S. just took that away from them. The harmful journey to the Indian

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