Indian Removal Act Research Paper

This historical document was written by Private John G. Burnett. Burnett’s diary entry was written on December 11, 1890. The years of the diary were during his journey through the Trail of Tears between 1828 and 1839. Burnett was a reserved person who was just fine with being by himself for weeks at a time. As he hunted more and more, he became acquainted with many of the Cherokee Indians who grew to eventually become his friends. Private Burnett wrote this diary entry to show the horror of what was happening between the American Indians and the Americans. The Americans were forcefully taking the Native Americans out of their homes and making them move, saying goodbye to what once was their homes and life. Burnett wanted this horrific removal

The marriage of Fanny Kemble and Pierce Butler foreshadowed the coming conflict that would divide the country. It showed the stark difference in the two groups one against and one advocating for. Fanny Kemble was a compassionate, independent, intelligent, understanding, and out spoken British women with many talents.

President andrew jackson signed a law on may 28, 1830. The law was called the Indian Removal. A few tribes went peacefully but some did not want to go and leave their home. In 1838-39 the cherokee were forcefully removed from their homes. 4,000 cherokee died on this trip which became known as “The trail of Tears”. December 6,1830 President Andrew Jackson outlined his indian removal policy in his second annual message to the congress. Additional copies of Andrew Jackson’s second annual message to congress can be found in the “House Journal” and the “ Senate Journal”.

More indians tribes were destroyed during war with the whites, and since the Native Americans did not have as much technology, food, and medicine as the whites, they lost a lot of warriors. Many Native Americans would leave their tribes in search for food only to be confronted and ambushed by white soldiers. Some Native Americans chose to surrender rather than to be moved to a different location. After the Indian and American War, the General Allotment Act was passed, also known as The Dawes Act of 1887. The Dawes Act granted Native Americans land allotments. It also took away the tribal ownership of most tribes. The act moved Indian families onto their own land, and took away Indian children away from their families and sent them to boarding

The conflict between the Americans and the Natives for the Native’s lands caused the government to created an Act to move the Natives. This compromise was the Indian Removal Act, “An Act to provide for an exchange of lands with the Indians residing in any of the states or territories and for their removals west of the river Mississippi” (United). The Act was passed on May 30, 1830 (Removal), and moved the Natives’ across the country from Georgia to Oklahoma (adamelhamouden). The Removal Act was for all Indians, but there were many other treaties that the government used to move the Natives. The Cherokees used the Treaty of New Echota. This was a Treaty that “traded all Cherokee lands East of the Mississippi for $5 million” (PBS staff). Most

There were some 15,000 captives that were still to be removed. There were draught and poor sanitation that made life very miserable. Very many of them died. The National Council of Cherokee and Chief Ross tried to plead with General Scott to permit the remaining Cherokees to wait till the weather was better for them to be moved. They also wanted to oversee their removal. The General agreed, and Ross supervised the move. The natives were thus moved from the removal forts to internment camps till travel was resumed. The 1200 miles journey came with many hardships as heavy rains made the primitive roads treacherous. The Cherokees were forced to drag the wagons out of the muddy roads. Death became a daily occurrence because of the road conditions, winter distress, and illness. The government only provided a single blanket to each Indian as shelter from the cold wind of the winter. The ill-equipped Cherokees were trapped beside the frozen Mississippi River with many of them dying of pneumonia. Starvation and malnutrition made the Cherokees more prone to diseases like cholera, dysentery, and smallpox. After arrival in Oklahoma, the Cherokees tried to acclimatize to their new territory in the process re-establishing their system of government. Currently in the United

Between 1816 and 1840, Indian tribes signed more than 40 treaties to secure their lands. In 1829, President Jackson relocated the eastern Indians and in 1830 the Indian Removal Act forced the Indians to move west of Mississippi. Between 1830 and 1850, 100,000 Indians were were living between Michigan, Florida,

"In order for us as poor and oppressed people to become a part of a society that is meaningful, the system under which we now exist has to be radically changed. It means facing a system that does not lend itself to your needs and devising means by which you can change that system. That is easier said than done –Ella Jo Baker (Shetterly)."

How does the text fit into historical movements? Well in Andrew Jackson Speech to Congress on Indian Removal the story stated “ During the fall and winter of 1838 and 1839, the cherokees were forcibly moved west by the United States government”. I think that Andrew Jackson created his own revolution there when he got all the Indians out the south because the way he felt about the indians was very stereotypically. Once Congress passed the action he then knew his task was completed. This is something I’m not muddle on, this is something I am certain about. Viceversa, looking at the Indians perspective when the Cherokees took a stand and decided to fight back it caused The Trail of

“Ma 'am, I 'm gonna try my hardest ta keep myself straight. I might’ve fell off the wagon, but I’s got back up, didn 't I?”

During the 19th century there was a tremendous amount of attention from the rest of the nation of the issues of land and Indian removal. These issues were centered around economic problems or developments that might arise as a result of Indian removal, Humanitarian issues, and finally political troubles that are caused by this act. During this time period senator Thomas Benton who represented Missouri wanted remove Native Americans off their land, he was a firm believer in extending the area of slavery. He was a huge advocate for “converting Indian soil to slave soil” as it a had a positive economic impact on the state and led onward on the march for cotton cultivation. The early and middle portion of the 19th century proved to be a difficult time for American Indians as they were constantly rattled by acts that led to them to emigrate their native land. The Indian removal act of 1830 provided funding for the uprooting of the five civilized tribes.

If I didn’t yet perceive that corporate accounting was difficult in myriad ways, the chronicle of Frank Ross’ journey through the halls of the profession, that I look to call my own, has certainly crystallized it for me. His experiences provide a roadmap for the aspirations of this would-be accountant

In our minds, however, we do not all live in the same America (Brown & Holt, 2000). The experience of traveling the Middle Passage may not been passed down in family stories but the history is horrific time. The Middle Passage is the transatlantic voyage slaves faced coming to America after being captured and forced to leave their homes. The behavior is today may seem barbaric for the isolation and cruel yet the ones who survived weeks on the ships came to America with strength and known as survivors after weeks on board of ships.

The Cherokee people, like all Native American tribes, possess an extensive, ancient oral history. Before European contact and the creation of the Cherokee syllabary, the only way the Cherokees could pass on the legends within their history was by word of mouth or in other words through storytelling. Their stories included justifications for the origin of Earth and mankind, good human morals and values, and Cherokee culture rituals. Diane Glancy, author of Pushing The Bear, does a great job in conveying the importance of storytelling in Cherokee culture. Glancy creates a story about cultural fragmentation and how the procession of the novel goes from being a disaster to being a success for the

Douglass” (Page 4 of unit 3) who himself was a slave breaks the myth that slaves were happy