Andrew Jackson an the Trail of Tears
On May 28, 1830 (181 years ago today) President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act into law, beginning a very sad chapter in American history.
During Jackson's first term in office, a land dispute existed between a number of southern states and some of the first nation tribes. Southerners were eager to acquire lands which were inhabited by five first nations known as the Five Civilized Tribes. Georgia, the largest state at that time, was involved in a land dispute with the Cherokee nation. President Jackson's solution was to use force rather than diplomacy. He planned to resolve the Georgia crisis by ordering the first nations' people off of the lands in dispute.
The Indian Removal Act was very controversial. By the way Jackson spun it, Native American removal was supposed to be voluntary. But in practice great pressure was put on Native American leaders to sign removal treaties. Some Native American leaders initially resisted removal. But after Jackson's landslide re-election in 1832, many of these leaders realized, to borrow the jargon of Star Trek, that resistance was futile.
Tribes affected by the Act included the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole. While many Americans favoured the legislation for reasons of self-interest, there were also many principled advocates who spoke out against the plan. Christian missionaries, the most prominent of which was Jeremiah Evarts, protested against passage of the Act. Future U.S. President Abraham Lincoln also opposed the Indian Removal Act. In Congress, New Jersey Senator Theodore Frelinghuysen and Congressman Davy Crockett of Tennessee also spoke out against the legislation. The Removal Act was passed after bitter debate in Congress.
Some of the first nations sought legal recourse through the courts. The Cherokee nation sued the state of Georgia in the 1832 U.S. Supreme Court decision of Worcester v. Georgia. The court ruled in favour of the Cherokees and held that Georgia could not impose its laws upon Cherokee tribal lands. But it was a hollow victory. When Jackson learned of the decision, he said, "John Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce it!"
The Removal Act paved the way for the forced removal of tens of thousands of American Indians to the West. The first removal treaty signed after the Removal Act was the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek on September 27, 1830, in which Choctaws in Mississippi ceded land east of the river in exchange for payment and land in the West. Choctaw chief Thomas Harkins (his first nations name was Nitikechi) told a reporter from the Arkansas Gazette that the 1831 Choctaw removal was a "trail of tears and death." This phrase was often used to describe this sorry episode of history.
The Treaty of New Echota (signed in 1835 during the Presidency of Martin Van Buren) resulted in the removal of the Cherokee people on the Trail of Tears. The Seminoles and some of the other tribes did not leave peacefully. Aided by some fugitive slaves they resisted the removal. The Second Seminole War lasted from 1835 to 1842 and resulted in the forced removal of Seminoles, only a small number to remain, and around 3,000 were killed.
Jackson was criticized at the time for his role in these events, and the criticism has grown over the years. U.S. historian Robert Vincent Remini (in his book entitled Andrew Jackson and the Course of American Freedom) characterizes the Indian Removal era as "one of the unhappiest chapters in American history." Others have used much stronger language. One historian went so far as to refer to this as "ethnic cleansing."
During Jackson's first term in office, a land dispute existed between a number of southern states and some of the first nation tribes. Southerners were eager to acquire lands which were inhabited by five first nations known as the Five Civilized Tribes. Georgia, the largest state at that time, was involved in a land dispute with the Cherokee nation. President Jackson's solution was to use force rather than diplomacy. He planned to resolve the Georgia crisis by ordering the first nations' people off of the lands in dispute.
The Indian Removal Act was very controversial. By the way Jackson spun it, Native American removal was supposed to be voluntary. But in practice great pressure was put on Native American leaders to sign removal treaties. Some Native American leaders initially resisted removal. But after Jackson's landslide re-election in 1832, many of these leaders realized, to borrow the jargon of Star Trek, that resistance was futile.
Tribes affected by the Act included the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole. While many Americans favoured the legislation for reasons of self-interest, there were also many principled advocates who spoke out against the plan. Christian missionaries, the most prominent of which was Jeremiah Evarts, protested against passage of the Act. Future U.S. President Abraham Lincoln also opposed the Indian Removal Act. In Congress, New Jersey Senator Theodore Frelinghuysen and Congressman Davy Crockett of Tennessee also spoke out against the legislation. The Removal Act was passed after bitter debate in Congress.
Some of the first nations sought legal recourse through the courts. The Cherokee nation sued the state of Georgia in the 1832 U.S. Supreme Court decision of Worcester v. Georgia. The court ruled in favour of the Cherokees and held that Georgia could not impose its laws upon Cherokee tribal lands. But it was a hollow victory. When Jackson learned of the decision, he said, "John Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce it!"
The Removal Act paved the way for the forced removal of tens of thousands of American Indians to the West. The first removal treaty signed after the Removal Act was the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek on September 27, 1830, in which Choctaws in Mississippi ceded land east of the river in exchange for payment and land in the West. Choctaw chief Thomas Harkins (his first nations name was Nitikechi) told a reporter from the Arkansas Gazette that the 1831 Choctaw removal was a "trail of tears and death." This phrase was often used to describe this sorry episode of history.
The Treaty of New Echota (signed in 1835 during the Presidency of Martin Van Buren) resulted in the removal of the Cherokee people on the Trail of Tears. The Seminoles and some of the other tribes did not leave peacefully. Aided by some fugitive slaves they resisted the removal. The Second Seminole War lasted from 1835 to 1842 and resulted in the forced removal of Seminoles, only a small number to remain, and around 3,000 were killed.
Jackson was criticized at the time for his role in these events, and the criticism has grown over the years. U.S. historian Robert Vincent Remini (in his book entitled Andrew Jackson and the Course of American Freedom) characterizes the Indian Removal era as "one of the unhappiest chapters in American history." Others have used much stronger language. One historian went so far as to refer to this as "ethnic cleansing."