The Indian Removal Act Of 1830

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

Ever since first contact, the lives and lands of native people, European’s disease killed tens of thousands of Indians. Natives relied on Europeans goods and the mountain intruders of white settlers left most tribes with a painful choice to leave their land and head west. Cherokees were unique in trying to adapt to white culture hoping they could keep their homeland. It was in a time of hope and triumph that the Cherokee’s faith grew darker. The American Revolution. Americans were rejoicing their independence but in Indian country it was little to celebrate. When the American Revolution came to Cherokee towns, the Cherokee joined forces with the British, their trading partners (Boulware). American revenge was swift and brutal. Malicious from

There have been numerous debates about whether the Indian Removal Act that lead to the Trail of Tears was justified or not. Some said it was necessary for the expansion of the United States, others believed it was unconstitutional. Regardless, through identifying the positive effects on Andrew Jackson, the Indians, and the negative effects on both sides of the act, it will help to come to the conclusion whether the act was necessary. Not only will this be achieved by weighing the benefits and disadvantages, but by looking at why Jackson presented this as an option, and what were his true intentions.

When Andrew Jackson became the president of the United States, he had in mind to remove Cherokee Indians from their society and place them on new lands provided by the Louisiana purchase. A bill was signed in 1830, known as the “Indian Removal Bill”, which made Cherokees migrate from Georgia, westward of the Mississippi river. The Cherokees had to be moved from their lands because the environment they were leaving in was not suiting them well and they were becoming a threat to the new government established by the United States.

As outlined in the treaty, the Cherokee were to cede their lands east of the Mississippi River in exchange for territory in the west” (Theda, and Green. ‘The Cherokee Nation and the Trail of Tears.’ New Echota, p. 98). The requirement, for relocation, highlights a power disparity between the Cherokee Nation and the United States Government. In the face of Cherokee objections and demonstrations, the conditions of the treaty were forced upon them, leading to the Trail of

Chief John Ross sent a letter to to the Senate and House of Representatives. In it he stated that a select group of Cherokee members who agreed and wanted to participate in the removal and had false representations of the tribe, signed the treaty when they were approached by men of the government( Ross, Paragraph 2). The U.S. government representatives knew that the Cherokee as a whole did not favor the removal, so they approached the ones the minority of tribesmen who did. The government knew that John Ross was the set leader of the Cherokee nation and they should of have approached him seeing as he was in charge of the tribe's best interest as a whole, not have been

Having little knowledge of the Cherokee removal and the history that took place in this moment in America’s past, the book Trail of Tears: Rise and Fall of the Cherokee Nation by John Ehle, offers an insight to the politics, social dynamics and class struggles the Cherokee Nation faced in the late 1830s. The book was very comprehensive and the scope of the book covers nearly 100 years of Native American History. Ehle captures the history of the Native American people by showing the readers what led to the events infamously known as the Trail of Tears. The author uses real military orders, journals, and letters which aid in creating a book that keeps

Most Americans have at least some vague understanding of the Trail of Tears, but not many know about the events that led to that tragic removal of thousands of Indians from their homeland. Indian lands were held hostage by the states and the federal government. The Indians had to agree to removal to maintain their tribe identities. Trail of Tears is an excellent example of a particular situation and will be eye opening to those who are not familiar with the story of the southern tribes and their interactions with the rapidly growing American population. The Trail of Tears has become the symbol in American history that indicates the callousness, insensitivity, and cruelty of American government toward American Indians in 1839 and 1839.

Andrew Jackson, the seventh president of the United States, came to power with one important promise to the American people: the removal of Indian tribes “to make room for the whites”. This Indian Removal, conducted in the 1830s, affected all Indian tribes, and they responded in various ways. Some were ready to move to the west and follow orders, tired of resisting the whites and knowing that there was no other way out. However, several tribes stood on the land of their ancestors and fought to remain where they were. One example of the latter was the focus of study for chapter ten—the Cherokee nation. The Cherokee resisted movement to the west through various treaties and pleas, but were eventually moved out due to military force and strong commands from the president.

The Indian Removal Act was not necessary for the U.S. This act resulted in The Trail of Tears. This journey, to present day Oklahoma, caused the lives of thousands of innocent Natives. Instead of pushing the Natives out of their homeland, The Treaty of New Echota should had been better negotiated. This treaty was negotiated with the Cherokee leader, Major Ridge, who claimed to represent

Most Americans have at least some vague image of the Trail of Tears, but not very many know of the events that led to that tragic removal of several thousand Indians from their homeland. Indian lands were held hostage by the states and the federal government, and Indians had to agree to removal to preserve their identity as tribes. Trail of Tears is an excellent snapshot of a particular situation and will be eye opening to those who are not familiar with the story of the southern tribes and their interactions with the burgeoning American population. The Trail of Tears has become the symbol in American history that signifies the callousness of American policy makers toward American Indians in 1839 and 1839.

In the year of 1828, the president Andrew Jackson was appointed to the office of the American government with this the fact of the remaining Indians tribes were important which were named “The Five Civilized Tribes” including the Cherokee and with the pass of the “Treaty of Etocha” forced the Cherokee out of the land of Georgia also known as the “Trail of Tears” where thousands upon thousands of Cherokee were killed during the extraction of the Cherokee’s land.

This first hand account by John G Burnett, a member of the 2nd Regiment, 2nd Brigade, Mounted Infantry, was written in 1890 as a letter to his children and paints a descriptive picture of the brutality of the Trail of Tears (“Two Accounts of the Trail of Tears”). The Trail of Tears was a tragic event, but was unavoidable due to the circumstances of the time. Many factors preceding the Trail of Tears have been proven to be catalyst for the tragic event. The Trail of Tears was when the United States Army forced the Cherokee indians from their home and made them move west of the Mississippi. There were people who were for the Trail of Tears and those who were not. Some factors which made the Trail of Tears inevitable were the growing population of America, the attitude of Americans toward natives, and the president of the time.

“It gives me pleasure to announce to Congress that the benevolent policy of the Government, steadily pursued for nearly thirty years, in relation to the removal of the Indians beyond the white settlements is approaching to a happy consummation. Two important tribes have accepted the provision made for their removal at the last session of Congress, and it is believed that their example will induce the remaining tribes also to seek the same obvious advantages.” (Jackson, 1830) This quote from President Andrew Jackson showed the happiness of the “white settlers” of stripping the homeland from the Native American people. This was the beginning of something tragic were many died from hunger and disease, The Trail of Tears.

In America’s early years, the Native Americans started to face cultural assimilation because they wanted to keep their traditional culture. The United States did not appreciate Native Americans as they tried to change them to fit the standards they perceived to be the best.  The dominant white male leaders tried to force the tribes into changing who they were. For example, in the 1790’s, the United States started to appoint agents, such as Benjamin Hawkins, to live with these tribes. The purpose of the agents were to teach the tribes how to live like the whites did. To add on, in 1830 the Indian Removal Act was passed, which forced tribes to leave their land if they were east of the Mississippi River and move to the west. John Ross was the leader of the Cherokee tribe at the time. By 1838, the Cherokees left their homeland and headed off towards the unexplored land. They had no idea what was in store for them. The journey was called “The Trail of Tears” because 4,000 Cherokees died. Fortunately, a majority of Native Americans stayed true to their culture and heritage. Moreover, it is important to stay true to yourself, no matter what cruelty may lie ahead. Nevertheless, nobody should have to change theirself in order to fit into society’s strict standards to begin with. These Native Americans  were previously forced to change themselves, but they took the opportunity to escape and have their cultural freedom. If they had not taken this