History: The Indian Removal Act Essay

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 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

The indian removal act was justified because the whites needed the land more than the indians because they had bigger settlements and they had a bigger population and they needed the land to expand the settlement. They also needed it for farmland because they needed more crops to feed the people in settlements. The first piece of evidence from document 5 that supports that the indian removal act was justified is “They are barbarous people, depending for subsistence upon the scanty and precarious supplies furnished by the chase [and] cannot live in contact with a civilized community.” This piece of evidence proves that the native americans were barbarous people who cannot live in contact with a civilized community. They rely on supplies that the whites needed more than them. The last piece of evidence that supports the indian removal act was justified is, “Shield them from impending ruin, but promote their welfare and happiness” This means that it will shield them from impending ruin and it will make them and the whites happier and it will promote their welfare. Removing the indians will make both sides happy because the indians have better land and the whites have room to expand on their

Before the passing of the Indian Removal Act of 1830, lands west of the Mississippi River were Indian territory. Americans were not to settle on those lands or invade into the Indian’s space. Andrew Jackson was interested in having these Indians removed from this land to use it for American expansion. At first he explained that by removing indians from this land whites would be less likely to experience any dangers that these people could bring. Also he felt that Americans could better populate the land and create cities and towns to make the land more useful. With the settlements of powerful cities and towns, Jackson believed, that the land would be less likely to be invaded and if invasion was to be brought into the and there would be

One reason of the unjustification of the Indian Removal Act is the fact that the Cherokees owned the land before the Americans arrived; their tribe have lived on the land for hundred of years. A passage from Georgia Encyclopedia states, “White people in Georgia and other southern states that

In Document K, the Cherokee said, “We wish to remain on the land of our fathers. We have a perfect and original right to remain without interruption or molestation… and “Our consciences bear us witness that we are the invaders of no man’s rights- we have robbed no man of his territory- we have usurped no man’s authority, nor have we deprived any one of his unalienable privileges. How then

The Indian Removal act occurred due to the boom in the cotton industry causing Southerners to desire for more land and gold lying upon Indian’s land. Jackson labeled them as savage and ransome and stated their taking up land for white settlers. The Indian Removal act caused many white settlers to encourage Indians into signing removal treaties in order to gain the land they want. Many tribes declined this treaty

Most Cherokee bands stood together as an independent nation to dispute the lesignation to the U.S courts. The supreme court decreed in the favor of the Cherokees. Already by then, some Cherokee tribes had signed the treaty and relocated to the designated Indian territory.

Jackson’s removal policy did not sit well with a lot of groups; many were uncomfortable about it but agreed it had to be done. President Jackson showed great leadership apart from everything else, and handled the Indian Removal act when no one else wanted to address the growing issue of Indian problem. Most government officials saw little to gain from addressing this and would do nothing. Some historians believe the president’s motivation was clearly out of concern for the Indians customs, their culture and their language, but his first concern was the safety of the military, Indians occupying the east might jeopardize the defense of the United States.

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;

“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.

Indian Removal Act Argumentative Imagine you’re a Native American in 1830 walking the Trail of Tears. Half dead, starving, and homeless. Soldiers are surrounding your tribe from the American Government forcing you to move across the country. In 1830 President Jackson placed the Indian Removal Act which allowed U.S. soldiers to remove Native American tribes from Georgia and other eastern lands to new discovered western lands.

In the years leading up to the Indian Removal Act, which was the initial cause of the Trail of Tears, the United States was in a shift. The country was seeing an unrivaled influx of European settlers looking for careers and land. This caused population to skyrocket, in fact in the years 1790-1840, the United States saw a 350% increase in population. In other words, the need for fertile land and viable property was high. At the same time, attempts at assimilation of Indians into American society were proving to be futile. Americans saw the Indians as “noble savages”, who were uncivilized but able to be fit for society if they were converted to Christianity and adopted Anglo-European culture and behavior. With the growing need for land and the rise in tension between Natives and fearful white settlers, something needed to be done in the eyes of the American people. These two things combined is what really set up the foreground for what would become the Indian Removal Act. President Andrew Jackson, in

Native Americans were treated rather unfairly. Casting Native Americans out of their homes was not only robbing them of their land, but their basic human rights as well. Many colonist refused to bond with Native Americans out of fear, eventually they got so scared of the Natives that they called for the “Indian Removal Act.” Andrew Jackson was the man behind the

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.