According Scott Baradell, the Battle of Antietam is the single worst day in United States history (par. 15). It was one of the many vicious battles of the U.S. Civil War. Although this is considered to be the worst day in the U.S. history because of the sheer bloodiness of the battle, the Indian Removal Act of 1830 can also be considered just as bad because of the complete lack of humanity behind the act. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 did not authorize the President of the United States, Andrew Jackson, to make treaties or forcibly remove the Native Americans from their land, but it was used to do both of those things (Cave 1331). This act came around because many poorer white people would not be able to obtain land simply because it was being occupied by the Native Americans. Removing the Native Americans was “all about expanding American territory by forcing Native Americans to move westward” (Manifest Destiny par. 2). It would not have been possible to settle further west without the removal of Native Americans (Campion 33). In "The Rise of the Common Man,"Andrew Jackson was described as a self-made man or someone who represent the common people (3-5). The white community had been crying out for this land, so he made it his mission to get …show more content…
As settlers began to move the land east of the Mississippi River, it was evident that settlers were not satisfied with just the unoccupied land. The white settlers feared or resented the Native American people who lived on the land that the white people wanted and thought that they deserved (History.com Staff par. 2). The white people of the South thought that the Native Americans were nothing but savages and illiterate. The believed that they deserved the land and that it was their destiny. Jackson, being a firm believer in doing what the common people want, pushed the Indian Removal Act of 1830 with as much force as he
Throughout Jackson's two terms as President, Jackson used his power unjustly. As a man from the Frontier State of Tennessee and a leader in the Indian wars, Jackson loathed the Native Americans. Keeping with consistency, Jackson found a way to use his power incorrectly to eliminate the Native Americans. In May 1830, President Andrew Jackson signed into law the Indian Removal Act. This act required all tribes east of the Mississippi River to leave their lands and travel to reservations in the Oklahoma Territory on the Great Plains. This was done because of the pressure of white settlers who wanted to take over the lands on which the Indians had lived. The white settlers were already emigrating to the Union, or America. The East Coast was burdened with new settlers and becoming vastly populated. President Andrew Jackson and the government had to find a way to move people to the West to make room. In 1830, a new state law said that the Cherokees would be under the jurisdiction of state rather than federal law. This meant that the Indians now had little, if any, protection against the white settlers that desired their land. However, when the Cherokees brought their case to the Supreme Court, they were told that they could not sue on the basis that they were not a foreign nation. In 1832, though, on appeal, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Cherokees were a "domestic dependent nation," and therefore, eligible to receive federal protection against the state. However, Jackson essentially overruled the decision. By this, Jackson implied that he had more power than anyone else did and he could enforce the bill himself. This is yet another way in which Jackson abused his presidential power in order to produce a favorable result that complied with his own beliefs. The Indian Removal Act forced all Indians tribes be moved west of the Mississippi River. The Choctaw was the first tribe to leave from the southeast.
Under the Jackson Administration, the changes made shaped national Indian policy. Morally, Andrew Jackson dismissed prior ideas that natives would gradually assimilate into white culture, and believed that removing Indians from their homes was the best answer for both the natives and Americans. Politically, before Jackson treaties were in place that protected natives until he changed those policies, and broke those treaties, violating the United States Constitution. Under Jackson’s changes, the United States effectively gained an enormous amount of land. The removal of the Indians west of the Mississippi River in the 1830’s changed the national policy in place when Jackson became President as evidenced by the moral, political, constitutional, and practical concerns of the National Indian Policy.
The Indian Removal Act was passed by Congress in order to allow the growth of the United States to continue without the interference of the Native Americans. Jackson believed that the Native Americans were inferior to white settlers and wanted to force them west of the Mississippi. He believed that the United States would not expand past that boundary, so the Native Americans could govern themselves. Jackson evicted thousands of Native Americans from their homes in Georgia and the Carolinas and even disregarded the Supreme Court’s authority and initiated his plan of forcing the Natives’ on the trail of tears. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Indians, however Jackson ignored the ruling and continued with his plan. The result of the Indian Removal Act was that many tribes were tricked or forced off their lands, if they refused to go willingly, resulting in many deaths from skirmishes with soldiers as well as from starvation and disease. The Cherokee in particular were forced to undergo a forced march that became known as the Trail of
As the frontier moved west, white settlers wanted to expand into territory, which was the ancestral land of many Indian tribes. Although this had been going on since the administration of George Washington, during the administration of Andrew Jackson the government supported the policy of resettlement, and persuaded many tribes to give up their claim to their land and move into areas set aside by Congress as Indian Territory. In 1830, Congress passed the Indian Resettlement Act, which provided for the removal of Indians to territory west of the Mississippi River. While Jackson was President, the government negotiated 94 treaties to end Indian titles to land in the existing states.
Initiated by the colonist’s want to further expand their colonies, their land, and their prosperity, many colonists voiced their want for Indian removal. After many proposals by various American leaders, and crucially Thomas Jefferson’s push (Garrison 13), Andrew Jackson’s presidency would be what finalized and enforced the Indian Removal Act. Jackson claimed he had listened to the people, and that his rationale for the removal was in favor of the Indian and
President Andrew Jackson wanted the white settlers from the south to expand owning land from Five Indian tribes, which was called Indian Removal Policy (McNamara). The Five Indian tribes that were affected were Choctaws, Muskogee, Chickasaws, Cherokees, and the Seminoles. In the 1830, the Removal Act went into effect. The Removal Act gave President Andrew Jackson the power to remove Indian tribes living east of the Mississippi river by a negotiate removal treaties (James). The treaties, made the Indians give up their land for exchange of land in the west (James). There were a few tribes that agreed to sign the treaties. The others that did not sign the treaty were forced into leaving their land, this was known as the Trail of Tears.
Picture being kicked out of your home that you grew up in and wanted to raise your children in, how would you feel? Imagine the fury and the sadness that would be running through your veins. This is how the Native Americans felt in 1830 when Andrew Jackson came up with the Indian Removal Act. The Indian Removal Act and the events leading up to it is a direct violation of the constitution. It is unconstitutional because the Natives had to convert their way of life to “stay” on their own land and then forced them off their tribal land. Jackson was a power hungry man who believed that anything he said everyone had to abide by, especially the Indian Removal Act.
... one of the stipulations and had to be settled. The removal of the Natives in an effort to protect the American people on the frontier proceeded, and was all the region of present-day Oklahoma, as shown in document L. These actions are viewed as cruel and unjust, but it was the way that would’ve dealt the least damage. Further delaying the issue would’ve soon set into altercations between the various Native tribes and the United States of America. In retrospect, Jackson served to protect the people.
Perhaps the worst aspect of Jackson 's administration was his removal and treatment of the natives. Specifically, Andrew Jackson forced the resettlement of several native american tribes against the ruling of the Supreme Court. The Indian Removal Act drove thousands of natives off their tribal lands and forced them west to new reservations. Then again, there are those who defend Jackson 's decision stating that Indian removal was necessary for the advancement of the United States. However, the cost and way of removing the natives was brutal and cruel. The opposition fails to recognize the fact that Jackson’s removal act had promised the natives payment, food, and protection for their cooperation but Jackson fails to deliver any of these promises. Furthermore, in “Indian removal,” an article from the Public-Broadcasting Service, a description of the removal of the Cherokee nation is given. The article analyses the effect of the Indian Removal Act, which was approved by Jackson, on various native tribes. “The Cherokee, on the other hand, were tricked with an illegitimate treaty. In 1833, a small faction agreed to sign a removal agreement: the Treaty of New Echota. The leaders of this group were not the recognized leaders of the Cherokee nation, and over 15,000 Cherokees -- led by Chief John Ross -- signed a petition in protest. The Supreme Court ignored their demands and ratified the treaty in 1836. The Cherokee were given two years to migrate voluntarily, at the end of which time they would be forcibly removed. By 1838 only 2,000 had migrated; 16,000 remained on their land. The U.S. government sent in 7,000 troops, who forced the Cherokees into stockades at bayonet point. They were not allowed time to gather their belongings, and as they left, whites looted their homes. Then began the march known as the Trail of Tears, in which 4,000 Cherokee
When Jackson pondered what decision was considered right or wrong, he thought about the effects and what would happen. One of the reason he decided it was better for a bigger group of people was because the Indian Removal Act provided protection from the angry, white citizens. Jackson enforced the Indian Removal Act as means of a paternalistic view. Jackson viewed the Indians as young children who need direction and management. Sadly, some Americans perceived this to excuse their indescribable disrespect towards the natives. “Throughout 1836 and into 1837, whites robbed and beat Cherokees almost every day.”(Dwyer year, 36). Because of most Americans view on the impossibility to manifest the whole continent, when a chance surfaced, their mindset would not be altered. Therefore, the removal of Indians would keep them from the destructions of whites. Jackson and his supporters wanted western land and settlement, therefore they would do whatever it meant to get it. Another thing Jackson realized when given all the options on the Indians was his own reputation and thoughts. Andrew Jackson’s ideas about the Indians established from his life on the frontier, his expansionist visions, his commitment to states ' rights, and his intense nationalism. Jackson wanted to please the citizens, especially after gaining their support and winning the election by a landslide popular vote win. Even if this act sent the natives from their homes and from hundreds of years of tradition and generations, Jackson held his allegiance to the American people. Nearly 60,000 Native Americans were involuntary migrated and although that is an enormous number to represent people, that was not near of the United States citizen population of close to 13,000,000. Another reason Jackson may have put the act into place was The Indians would not fit into white society
In 1830, the President of the United States Andrew Jackson issued an order for the removal of the Native Americans, which passed through both houses of Congress. “When Andrew Jackson became president (1829–1837), he decided to build a systematic approach to Indian removal on the basis of these legal precedents.” (William. Pg 5). 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. “Thomas Jefferson was the original instigator of the idea of removing a...
...The Indian Removal Act was all a part of Jackson’s expansion process, and he would stop at nothing until America made the most of its land.
The Indian Removal Act in the short term shaped the Natives culture and society very notably. The Indian Removal Act caused the destruction of Native American tribes, and lead to a loss of tradition and culture. However, it did allow for the Americans to gain the land needed to build their growing country and meet their economic desires. Desires that President Andrew Jackson had pushed for at Congress in his first inaugural speech, and had made an important policy for his presidency, as he viewed the results as beneficial, to “not only the states immediately concerned, but to the harmony of the union”. The harmony of the union was perceived to be gained at the loss of Native culture, as Jackson represented himself as the man of the people,
...sessing gold in Native American territories brought America great wealth and at the same time gave freedom in the usage of land. Acquiring land from Native Americans led to the western expansion which enlarged American territory and brought great prosperity to the nation. Critics now blame Jackson for executing the removal, but the idea of the policy was not only his. Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe and John Quincy Adams also shared the same opinion and contributed in carrying out the removal act. Although this event was tragic, it was an inevitable one and would have happened somewhere in history. The two groups would never have agreed entirely on their political views, and would have had to determine which group led the country at some point in time. Thus, the Indian Removal Act was an essential occurrence that paved the way for the development of the new nation.
The generalization that, “The decision of the Jackson administration to remove the Cherokee Indians to lands west of the Mississippi River in the 1830s was more a reformulation of the national policy that had been in effect since the 1790s than a change in that policy,” is valid. Ever since the American people arrived at the New World they have continually driven the Native Americans out of their native lands. Many people wanted to contribute to this removal of the Cherokees and their society. Knox proposed a “civilization” of the Indians. President Monroe continued Knox’s plan by developing ways to rid of the Indians, claiming it would be beneficial to all. Andrew Jackson ultimately fulfilled the plan. First of all, the map [Document A] indicates the relationship between time, land, and policies, which affected the Indians. The Indian Tribes have been forced to give up their land as early as the 1720s. Between the years of 1721 and 1785, the Colonial and Confederation treaties forced the Indians to give up huge portions of their land. During Washington's, Monroe's, and Jefferson's administration, more and more Indian land was being commandeered by the colonists. The Washington administration signed the Treaty of Holston and other supplements between the time periods of 1791 until 1798 that made the Native Americans give up more of their homeland land. The administrations during the 1790's to the 1830's had gradually acquired more and more land from the Cherokee Indians. Jackson followed that precedent by the acquisition of more Cherokee lands. In later years, those speaking on behalf of the United States government believed that teaching the Indians how to live a more civilized life would only benefit them. Rather than only thinking of benefiting the Indians, we were also trying to benefit ourselves. We were looking to acquire the Indians’ land. In a letter to George Washington, Knox says we should first is to destroy the Indians with an army, and the second is to make peace with them. The Indian Trade and Intercourse Act of 1793 began to put Knox’s plan into effect. The federal government’s promise of supplying the Indians with animals, agricultural tool...