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Indian removal, a popular policy among incoming settlers, was a consequence of actions first by the European colonists and then later on by the American settlers in the nation during the thirteen colonies and then after the revolution, in the United States of America also until the mid-20th century.
- Overview
- A history of conflict between Euro-Americans and Native Americans
- Andrew Jackson’s policies towards Native Americans
- The Trail of Tears
- What do you think?
In the 1830s, President Andrew Jackson pursued a policy of Indian Removal, forcing Native Americans living in Georgia, Florida, and Mississippi to trek hundreds of miles to territory in present-day Oklahoma.
From the earliest days of colonial contact, relations between white European settlers and indigenous people in the Americas were plagued by conflict over land and its natural resources. John C. Calhoun, who served as Secretary of War under President James Monroe, was the first to design a plan for removing Native Americans to lands west of the Mississippi River, but the Georgia delegation in the House of Representatives sunk the bill.
President John Quincy Adams believed the issue should be resolved peaceably, but Georgia again proved an obstacle when they blocked the implementation of voluntary removal of Native Americans from territories in the southeast United States. It wasn't until the presidency of Andrew Jackson that "Indian removal" became official US policy.1
Before becoming president, Andrew Jackson had distinguished himself as a champion of white settlers against indigenous people. In the War of 1812, Jackson had led an offensive against the Creek nation in an attempt to clear the Mississippi Territory for white settlement, and under President James Monroe, he had participated in the First Seminole War, which devastated the Seminole tribe of Florida.2
By the time Jackson entered the White House, white settlers in Georgia had been complaining for some time about the continued presence of Cherokee and Creek people on the lands they wished to inhabit. These white settlers were emboldened by the election of Jackson in 1828 and revoked the constitution of the Cherokee nation in Georgia, declaring that indigenous people were subject to the laws of the state of Georgia. In 1830, the Cherokee nation took the state of Georgia to the Supreme Court, arguing that it was an independent nation and as such, was not subject to the authority of the state of Georgia. Chief Justice of the Supreme Court John Marshall agreed that the Cherokee nation was a distinct society but not that it was a foreign nation.
The Indian Removal Act was applied to the "Five Civilized Tribes"—Choctaw, Chickasaw, Cherokee, Creek, and Seminole—so named by people of the time because they had to some degree assimilated into white European culture and society. In September 1830, Choctaws became the first tribe to sign a treaty and voluntarily relocate to the territory that would become the state of Arkansas. Seminoles refused to leave their ancestral lands in Florida, sparking the Second Seminole War in 1835. Seminole chief Osceola led the resistance, which proved costly to the United States in terms of both money and casualties. The US Army ultimately emerged victorious, however, and forced remaining Seminoles out of Florida and into the area west of the Mississippi River that became known as Indian Territory.4
Chickasaws agreed to leave their lands in exchange for a monetary settlement of $3 million, which the United States refused to pay until almost 30 years later. The Creeks had been forced to cede over 20,000 acres of their ancestral lands in the Treaty of Fort Jackson following the Battle of Horseshoe Bend in the War of 1812; the remaining Creeks signed over the rest of their lands after the enactment of the Indian Removal Act and relocated to Indian Territory through the Trail of Tears.5
How would you characterize Andrew Jackson’s attitude toward Native Americans?
Imagine you were forced to relocate to a distant place or face death. What would you take with you? How would you feel about your new surroundings?
Can you imagine any alternative policies that would have protected the interests of white settlers while preserving the rights and respecting the culture of Native Americans?
[Notes and attributions]
Indian Removal Act, (May 28, 1830), first major legislative departure from the U.S. policy of officially respecting the legal and political rights of the American Indians. The act authorized the president to grant Indian tribes unsettled western prairie land in exchange for their desirable territories within state borders (especially in the ...
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
On March 28, 1830, the United States Congress passed the Indian Removal Act, marking the government’s clear-cut push to remove Native American tribes from east of the Mississippi River. The Indian Removal Act opened land that Indigenous peoples had previously called home to White settlement and the expansion of slavery, further codifying ...
Jan 29, 2024 · Jackson was a tireless proponent of Native-American re settlement to the west. In May of 1830, he pushed the Indian Removal Act through Congress. This law authorized the president to designate lands west of the Mississippi for tribal use and to negotiate treaties ensuring their movement. Jackson supported Georgia's aggressive actions toward the ...
Scroll to begin an exploration of the vast scope and effects of American Indian removal. This online lesson provides perspectives from Native American community members, documents, maps, images, and activities to help students and teachers understand an important and difficult chapter in the history both of Native Nations and the United States.
Removing Native Americans from their Land. Ohio land cessions. In 1786, the United States established its first Native American reservation and approached each tribe as an independent nation. This policy remained intact for more than one hundred years. Some argued against this policy, however.
