Indian Removal

2 Pages 529 Words

The decision of the Jackson administration to remove the Cherokee Indians to lands west of the Mississippi River in the 1830’s was more a reformulation of the national policy that had been in effect since the 1790’s than a change in that policy. It was more of a reformulation because Jackson acquired more Cherokee lands, he gave them an ultimatum, and he tried to persuade the Indians to move. After 1825 the federal government attempted to remove all eastern Indians to the Great Plains area of the Far West. The Cherokee Indians of northwestern Georgia, to protect themselves from removal, made up a constitution which said that the Cherokee Indians were sovereign and not subject to the laws of Georgia. When the Cherokee sought help from the Congress they only urged them to move. However, the Supreme Court in Worcester vs. Georgia ruled that they constituted a “ domestic dependent nation” not subject to the laws of Georgia.
Andrew Jackson’s decision to remove the Cherokee Indians to lands west of the Mississippi River was a reformulation because it continued Washington’s, Monroe’s, and Jefferson’s administration to acquire Indian land. The administrations during the 1790’s to the 1830’s had gradually acquired more and more land from the Cherokee Indians. According to Document A, the map shows the relationship between time and policies that effected the Indians. From the Colonial and Confederations treaties, a significant amount of land had been acquired from the Cherokee Indians.
On December 8, 1829 Jackson gives a speech and the objective seemed to be to convert the Cherokee Indians from hunters into cultivators but the underlying reason for the movement is for gold which was found in Georgia. (Doc.O) In 1906 Jackson gave the Cherokee Indians an ultimatum, which stated the Cherokee Indians move west of the Mississippi or they will have to abide by the laws of Georgia and the United States. The Cherokee Ind...