The Role Of Native Americans In Andrew Jackson's Trail Of Tears

In the article by Anthony F. C. Wallace, “The Hunger for Indian Land in Andrew Jackson’s America,” the reasons for America's need for Indian land is discussed. The purpose of this article is to explain the Indian removal that occurred under Andrew Jackson’s presidency. The thesis of this essay states that Americans kicked the Natives off of their land to fulfill a selfish desire to expand the cotton industry.

The trail of Tears in 1838 and 1839, as a part of Andrew Jackson’s Indian removal policy, the Cherokee was forced to give up their land that were east of the Mississippi and they were too migrate to present-day Oklahoma. The Trail of Tears began during the 1830’s. The reason the Trail of Tears took place was because of the enforcement of the Treaty of New Echota. The Treaty of New Echota was an agreement that was signed under the provisions of the Indian Removal Act. The Trail of Tears was a big event that happened. The Trail of Tears has changed this world forever.

There have been many dark times in our History as Americans. Among them is the Trail of Tears,brought upon by Andrew Jackson, which exiled the Indians from the American south and resulted in the death of thousands on the way to Oklahoma. Before this trying time there was speculation within the supreme court whether to treat the Native tribes as a sovereign foreign nation or as a dependent entity within the United States. I will discuss how these decisions came to be, the reactions to said decisions, and the aftermath of these rulings which inevitably leads to the Trail of Tears.

Many Native Americans tried to fit in with American culture, by learning to write and read, establishing governments similar to those of the United States, develop their own written languages, and start a plantation system with slavery. However, it was not sufficient. The New American still did not like the Native Americans, and wanted them to go. President Andrew Jackson was the one who thought of immediate solutions to the problem. Indian threaten westward expansion in the mid-nineteenth century with Second Seminole War, Treaty of New Echota, and Trail of Tears,

Under influence of president Andrew Jackson, the congress was urged in 1830 to pass the Indian Removal Act, with the goal of relocated many Native Americans in the East territory, the west of Mississippi river.

During the “Gilded Age” period of American history, development of the Trans-Mississippi west was crucial to fulfilling the American dream of manifest destiny and creating an identity which was distinctly American. Since the west is often associated with rugged pioneers and frontiersmen, there is an overarching idea of hardy American individualism. However, although these settlers were brave and helped to make America into what it is today, they heavily relied on federal support. It would not have been possible for white Americans to settle the Trans-Mississippi west without the US government removing Native Americans from their lands and placing them on reservations, offering land grants and incentives for people to move out west, and the

After three days of Jackson on trial, the jury has decided that the defendant, Mr. Andrew Jackson was not guilty of crimes against humanity. The vote was very close though, Andrew won by a hair, with the votes being 5 versus 3. The jury found that even though the prosecution proved Jackson was a bad man, he did not commit the crimes against humanity.

Jackson planned on moving Native Americans west of the Mississippi River, to maintain the land many Native Americans called home. At first, Jackson proposed treaties to the Native Americans hoping for them to sign so he could deviously take their land. One of Jackson’s known tactics is lying, which he happened to do in this case, where he promised Native Americans that by moving west the were insuring a safe future. Conclusively, the Native Americans refused to sign the treaty as stated in Andrew Jackson and the Constitution, “Ultimately, he forcibly removed a number of tribes, most notoriously the Cherokee, from their homes.” (gilderlehrman.org) Numerous amounts of Native Americans were killed from their removal, this incident was known as the Trail of Tears. The Indian Removal Act is heavenly frowned upon for a sound reason, even if Jackson followers decide to avoid the countless amount of deaths Jackson

Many people, including some historians, portray Andrew Jackson as an “Indian Hater.” Jackson frequently fought against Native Americans, but why did he fight these people? In Pruchas article she talked about many different ways Jackson fought against Native Americans and what his reasoning was. In 1808, Jackson had believed there were a group of settlers that were killed by the creeks. He believed that Great Britain ordered the creeks to come over and kill the settlers. Since that date, Jackson had not spoken of the Indians of any other way that not aimed toward England. He believed that the battle of tippecanoe was because “the excited to war by the secrete agents of Great Britain” (528). He felt like anything bad that had happened or anyone

Andrew Jackson’s presidency is one of the more debated presidencies in American history. Many see him as a hero while others view him as opposite. Depending on which history book is read, portrayals of him are sometimes of “the common man,” who attacked a political system that ignored the will of the common citizens. Other texts would portray Jackson as tyrant, one who disrespected many of the institutions outlined in the Constitution. He is usually celebrated by some because he defended the rights of the common people. Others, however, look down upon his removal of the Native Americans, a movement known as the Trail of Tears. Both of these conclusions are correct in the judgement of Jackson’s presidency. Many events that occurred while he was in office helped the development of our nation while at the same time led up to the events prior to the Civil War.

Although Jackson was important, he was part of many terrible things. Around the 1820s there were many major indian tribes in eastern United States such as Cherokee, Chickasaw, Creek and Seminole. This soon came to a change. Andrew Jackson thought these Indians were in the way of eastern development, using the Indian Removal Act which the congress had approved he decided to kick them out and send them west. In 1831 the Supreme Court ruled that the Cherokee Indians had the right to self government and the United States could not interfere with that. Jackson ignored the Supreme Court. He continued forcing indians out the west. This journey is known as the Trail of Tears. One-fourth of indians died from this journey.

Andrew Jackson signed the indian removal act and was put into law on May 28th 1830. Authorizing the president to grant unsettled lands west of the mississippi in exchange for lands west of the mississippi, in exchange land within state borders. During the winter of 1838 the cherokees were forced to move west by the United States government. Four thousand cherokees died on this walk, which is known as the “Trail of Tears”. This is why Andrew Jackson was a bad president, because of the cruel indian removal act.

There has been a lot of controversy of Andrew Jackson, whether he was a good president or one that destroyed the office of the presidency. However, Andrew Jackson is not guilty. He was a good president and should not be accused of degrading the office of the presidency.

At the beginning of the 19th, the United States was looking for an expansion of land. The white settlers wanted the lands used by the Indians for their own economic gain. By 1830, President Jackson issued the Indian Removal Act; allowing state officials to override federal protection of Native Americans. Most Indian tribes left their homelands in Georgia during the early 1830s. However, the Cherokees remained. In 1838, the experiences the Cherokee Indians endured on the Trail of Tears could best be described as brutal.

Herman’s family got raided and killed and kidnapped his brother and him. Another raid was the Cathertons when they killed everyone in the house except the baby so Laura and her family questioned if it was Indians that did it. Laura’s family also got their house raided. These are examples of the things Native Americans did to get revenge on the Europeans and make their lives harder than it needed to be.