individuals that played a part in the passage of The Indian Removal Act and how “The Trail of Tears” came to be

individuals that played a part in the passage of The Indian Removal Act and how “The Trail of Tears” came to be

The Indian Removal Act, legislated by Andrew Jackson, the president of the United States, resulted in controversy and brutal suffering of the Native Americans during “The Trail of Tears.” There was a need for the removal of the Indian tribes living in the United States to pave the way for the European settlers who intended to get to the West. The campaign for the removal of the Indians was spearheaded by Andrew Jackson, who initiated several treaties to facilitate the relocation of the Indian tribes. This paper will focus on the individuals that played a part in the passage of this Act in Congress, the perceived benefits of the centralization of the Indians, and how “The Trail of Tears” came to be.

“The Trail of Tears” is termed as one of the most inhumane occurrences in the history of America as a result of how inhumanly the government handled the people of Cherokee. The Cherokee Nation termed the journey “The Trail Where We Cried.” It was quite a dreadful ordeal they were forced to go through by the federal and state government, who showed no care about their culture or justice. The white settlers focused on expanding the horizons, their hopes, and their dream riches[1]. This all began in the 19th century when the white settlers, while growing the United States and making expansion to the South, encountered Indian nations that were an obstacle to their development. The white settlers were in dire need of land to grow cotton and pressed the Federal government to get hold of the Indian territory.

The quest to acquire the Indian territory was then termed as the Indian Removal, and one of the major participants and proponents of this was Andrew Jackson, who was the then US president. Jackson contributed to the Indian removal first in 1814, when he commanded forces in the U.S. to conquer one of the Indian tribes, the Creeks. This led to the loss of millions of acres of land by the Creeks in the South of Georgia and central Alabama[2]. Jackson then initiated treaties where the Indian nations were asked to leave their property in the South and move to the land in the west. There were a total of eleven agreements, nine of which had the tribes agreeing to. The tribes accepted these treaties for two main reasons. . First, they needed protection from harassment by the whites, and they also took this for the appeasement of the government hoping to retain some of their lands. The voluntary immigration by the Indian nations resulted in the United States gaining control of the Southern area formerly occupied by the Indian nations.

A decision was made in 1823 by the Supreme Court, providing that although the Indians were allowed to live in the land in the United States, they couldn’t bear titles to them. This was a significant threat posed to the Indian nations, and in their defense, the countries put policies in place that restricted their sale of land to the government. The resistance offered by the Indian societies was non-violent, and they always opted for the legitimate way to safeguard their rights. Despite their numerous efforts, the Supreme Court still rules several cases against them. The Cherokee, for instance, attempted to adopt a written constitution in 1827 where they declared themselves a sovereign nation. The State of Georgia overlooked Their sovereign status as they were considered as tenants on the United States land.

Jackson initiated new legislation, “The Indian Removal Act,” just one year after he assumed office. This new legislation allowed the president the power to negotiate removal treaties with the Indian nations that resided in the east of Mississippi. The negotiated agreements provided that the Indians give up their lands in the east in place for property in the west. The intentions of the removal were peaceful and utterly voluntary so that the tribes would agree to it. However, the Southern tribes resisted, and this resulted in the implementation of force to make them leave. Jackson held the belief that the removal would benefit the Indians. This was because of how he perceived the native Americans. He referred to them as children that needed guidance and who will benefit from the removal. This was in the sense that by being removed from Mississippi, the Indians would be saved from harassment by the whites. The government would also help them resettle in areas that they would be able to live in peace and govern themselves.

Also, to Andrew Jackson, he didn’t consider the fact that some rights were more paramount than others. According to him, the states had all the power within their right to effect the extension of their territory into the lands of the Indians. His argument also held that the citizens of the United States had rights that the Indians didn’t have. “The Indians are the subjects of the United States, inhabiting its territory and acknowledging its sovereignty …” [3]An advocate for the security and expansion of the United States and the contention over control of the Cherokee Nation was among the significant issues that would threaten the country’s strength. He viewed the claim of Georgia over the Cherokee land as being within its right. He presented this argument in his First Annual Message, December 8, 1829. Jackson argued that it would be against the constitution for the US. To sustain the pretensions of the people of being sovereign nations. Supporting Georgia’s advocates, he mentioned that allowing a foreign and independent government to establish itself within a state was against the US constitution.

Another argument he presented for the removal of the Indians was that the policies of the US regarding the civilization of the Indians didn’t align with land acquisition and removal policies. He also mentioned that the goal attached to the enlightenment was not right as in areas where culture had been practical, the Indians were set up independent governments. Wilson Lumpkin, a US Senator, also supported the Indian Removal Act. He opposed the governments’ plans to the agreement policies with John Ross, who represented the Cherokee Nation. He also introduced the resolution of relocating the Indians to the west of Mississippi. He viewed the Cherokee Nation threatened the state of Georgia. It was a political barrier as well as an economic impediment, as it barred the state from taking its rightful place in the United States society. The Cherokee nation was characterized by agricultural developments, government reorganization, and printing, all of which contributed to the threat perceived by the state of Georgia. Lumpkin termed Georgia as the injured party and not the Indians who he advocated for their removal.

The removal policy caused a broad unease in several sections of the U.S. society, and there were several campaigns of petitions as well as public meetings organized to oppose the Indians’ removal. This was referred to as the Congressional debate on the Removal Act[4]. Most of the people of the Cherokee Nation opposed the removal and worked for years fighting it. Georgia and the United States suppressed the Cherokee government, as it was denied protection and revenue. The results were the subversion of the Cherokee economy, the confiscation of their press, the assault on people, harassment, imprisonment, and a lot of the people’s property taken away. Any legal cases of the Cherokee that were presented in court led to a lost battle, despite the support from some Georgia courts and the rulings of the Supreme court. Although the judgments of the Supreme Court and local courts were favorable and could add weight to the public opinion, they lacked enforcement, and this meant that they couldn’t dramatically alter the policy. This was also difficult because the system was made and effected by the executive and legislature of the United States and Georgia[5].

When the Indian Removal Act was passed in 1830, most Native Americans were forced to leave their lands and relocate. Most of the tribes in the east of Mississippi had been pushed into the west, and those that resisted had been defeated and destroyed in battle by 1838. One of the tribes that fought hard to retain their land was the Cherokee tribe. They didn’t put up a violent fight but instead used the printing press and the government in their bid to protect their homeland. The Christian missionaries that were spreading the word of Christ in the Cherokee Nation for over 25 years were attempted to be silenced by the state[6]. The Cherokee tribe had declared itself a sovereign nation, making it difficult for the state to enact any laws regarding the tribe. The federal government was the only one capable of dealing with a sovereign nation, and this could be done through a treaty.

The government made several attempts to negotiate treaties with the Cherokee. John Ross, the principal chief, tried to negotiate with the government on behalf of the Cherokee tribe. He made demands of 5 million dollars, citizenship, the right to vote, have a political office, and be able to testify in court. These demands didn’t agree well with the United States and Georgia. With the Cherokee Nation rallying behind him, Ross made a new demand for $20 million for the entire nation and the people’s voluntary removal to Oklahoma. In response, the federal government negotiated the corrupt treaty of New Echota and The Treaty Party, and this agreement called for voluntary dismissal of $5 million.

Despite the claims by Ross that the Treaty Party didn’t speak for the Cherokee tribe, the federal government and the state ordered troops to invade the Nation. The military units of the US completed the final expropriation of the Cherokee in 1938[7]. The people of the Cherokee nation were interned in the military enclosure, and they were conducted on a forced march across the central United States. This caused the people of Cherokee to be moved into the filth-ridden forts where they stayed until they could be transferred to the areas they would be embarked. A lot of lives of the people of Cherokee were lost in the invasion by the federal government.

The removal of the Indians also involved the use of guns at some point, and this was referred to as the trail of tears. During the summer of 1838, 15,000 members of the Cherokee Nation were marched into primitive stockades, and 3,000 of them died in the process of the removal[8]. This became an involuntary relocation that happened after the Indian Removal Act was passed in 1830. As they were relocated from their ancestral land in the southeast and pushed into what was termed as the Indian territory, they were in great pain. This was as a result of being exposed to illness and famine as they moved into their new lands, something that led to the death of some of them. Diseases ran through them. They were forced by the militia to walk to the new territories, and some of the people were too old or too young to travel. Such people gave up on taking the journey and died alone by the side of the road. The soldiers and militia assigned to drive them off the homeland were brutal to the Indians and even tormented the young women.

Thousands of people died in the military stockades while thousands more died on their way to the west. They had mediocre food, limited water, filthy conditions of living, and diseases. This resulted in 25% of the tribe perishing during “The Trail of Tears.”

Conclusion

The Indians had a right to their land as they claimed it way before the European settlers. The new colonists could have handled the situation way better, in ways that wouldn’t have resulted in the tragic loss of lives of the Indians in the bis to remove them from their ancestral land. The passage of the Indian Removal Act was contributed by the government’s lack of respect and the willingness to compromise. The transformation in policy resulted in the tragic conflict and demise of several American Indians. The Indian Removal Act oppressed the Indian tribes, displaced them from their homeland, and led to the death of thousands of the people of Cherokee. It set out the end of Indian Rights to live in those states and even under their traditional laws. This act forced them into only two options, to concede to the law of the United States to leave their homeland. As they cried and wept, they became stronger, and it became their story of hope, courage, and survival. The Trail of tears should be a stern warning of the turbulent times that the Indian tribes experienced as they were relocated from their ancestral land.

Although these Indian tribes were displaced from their ancestral homeland, they continue to live as sovereign nations in the United Nations and keep striving for equal rights. They escaped the fate of several extinct eastern tribes. The Cherokees survived, and today, they constitute the largest tribe of Native Americans in the country. They have their tribal identity, a living language, and three governmental bodies that provide for their needs.

[1] “Cherokee Trail Of Tears.” 2019. Aboutnorthgeorgia.Com. http://www.aboutnorthgeorgia.com/ang/Cherokee_Trail_of_Tears

[2] Jackson, Andrew. “Indian Removal, Extract from Andrew Jackson’s Seventh Annual Message to Congress Johannsen, Robert W.” (1997): 7-19.

[3] Foreman, Grant. Indian removal: The emigration of the five civilized tribes of Indians. Vol. 2. University of Oklahoma Press, 1953.

[4] “Indian Removal”. 2019. Pbs.Org. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2959.html.

[5] “Marshall-Cases: Cherokee Nation V. State of Georgia 1831 < 1826-1850 < Documents < American History From Revolution To Reconstruction And Beyond”. 2019. Let.Rug.Nl. http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/documents/1826-1850/marshall-cases-cherokee-nation-v-state-of-georgia-1831.php

[6] Filler, Louis, and Allen Guttmann, eds. The removal of the Cherokee Nation: manifest destiny or national dishonor? No. 35. Heath, 1962.

[7] The Trail Of Tears.” 2019. Chieftainstrail.Com. http://chieftainstrail.com/stories/trail_of_tears.html

[8] “Orders No. [25] Head Quarters, Eastern Division Cherokee Agency, Ten. May 17, 1838. [N. P., 1838].”. 2019. The Library Of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/resource/rbpe.1740400a/?st=text