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How Did The Indian Removal ActBy George W Harkins?

Decent Essays

Historically, the white man and the Native tribes couldn’t live together, they fought because the two sides competed for superiority. The United States Government sought to put an end to the violent clashes with the white man and Natives tribes. During 1830, the Indian Removal Act allowed the president of the United States to negotiate terms of relocation for Native tribes, causing mass migration to the west, and helping the United States became safer, wealthier, and stronger. This Act wasn’t easy for the Native tribes, the land their ancestors had built them was no longer home, forced to leave and make a sacrifice for another civilization they felt had no respect for them. President Andrew Jackson saw this Act as a win- win for both the white man and the Natives. On the Contrary, George W Harkins, a leader of the Native tribe Choctaw didn’t see the same benefits, as he expressed when he addressed the American people in 1832.

In 1830, President Jackson addressed Congress stating two Native tribes had accepted the terms of the Indian Removal Act. Jackson said he hoped the two tribes consent would set an example for the other tribes to leave because he thought leaving was an advantage for them. He explained, “It puts an end to all possible danger of collision between the authorities of the General and State governments on account of the Indians.” The two different civilizations didn’t agree, which lead to violent conflicts that lasted centuries. Thirty years, the United States had tried to find a way to get the two civilizations end the violent affairs. The Indian Removal Act became the United States government’s solution that ended the violent encounters. This Act removed the Natives from northern Tennessee, southern Louisiana, western Alabama and the state of Mississippi, which helped the United States become stronger when they fought off foreign attacks.

The Natives felt oppressed by the white man because they had no say in politics and faced lots prejudice by the American people. The Choctaw people didn’t feel free in their own home, according to Harkins, as he addressed the white man. On behalf of himself and his people Harkins responded with sadness, “We were hedged in by two evils, and we chose that

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