Why Did Jackson Remove the Indians?
Indian Removal dates back to1830 when the United States through the then president Andrew Jackson signed legislation on May 26 1830. The plan was to relocate the Native American tribes who inhabited the lands in the east to the west of the Mississippi river. Jackson pursued the plans of removal of the Native Americans with aggression from the areas east and west of the river Mississippi. The Native Americans were considered as outside foes and were to be removed to ensure that the calls to nationalism were adhered to as well as ensuring expansion of the great country. He viewed the presence of the Native Americans as a threat to his nationalism ideals and sought to ensure that they were prevented from doing so by removal from the Mississippi river banks (Remini, 162).
He was of the opinion that it was paramount to ensure the removal of the Indians to preserve their culture and prevent the possible annihilation of the community. He was described as nationalists who aimed at propagating his expansionist ideals (Wallace, 172).. Jackson did not stand to gain economically from the removal of the Indians from the areas of Mississippi river. He was merely driven by his nationalistic needs of ensuring that the country attained unity and growth. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 was essentially a discriminatory act that enforced racism and segregation of the natives form the rest of the American community (Remini, 165).
The removal of the Native Americans from their ancestral lands had detrimental effects on the culture of the natives. Their culture was one of the main issues, which were the main drivers of the removal. Some congressional representatives considered the culture of the Native Americans as backward and belonging to the dark ages. Hence, they sought to ensure that the Native Americans were segregated until they were civilized. Civilization was to take place in the form of education, new religion, and adoption of the abandonment of the native culture.
There were five existent tribes in the east of the Mississippi River consisted of Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, Seminole, and Cherokee. These five tribes were displaced and denied access to ancestral land, which had belonged to them and their ancestors for thousands of years. Essentially the displacement was devastating in terms of disruption of the community rituals and culture. The Native Americans lost land, which they considered as sacred such as shrines and religious venues for holding ceremonies (Wallace, 175).
The Supreme Court was involved in the case of Johnson v. M’Intosh whereby the court issued a decision that if the Indians had the ability to occupy the lands in any region of the United States. However, the same decision prohibited the Indian community from holding title or ownership to the lands. According to Jackson, the union was a federation of sovereign states with individual governance structures. He opposed the policies issued by Washington in terms of the establishment of treaties with the Indian tribes, which were considered as independent states. Hence, the establishment of treaties with the Native American tribes was deemed as a contravention of the constitution. In addition, this would also be a violation of the sovereignty of the union made up of a federation of states (Cherokee Nation, 32). Hence, Jackson was of the view that the Indian tribes could not be granted any form of sovereignty but should be subjected to the state laws.
In conclusion, there his intentions were bent on ensuring that the Native Americans were able to preserve their culture as well as their numbers. In addition, the acts of removal were however contrary to the plans of Jackson as they were carried out in inhumane manners as well as contrary to the agreements with the tribes. This was the source of the conflict. Additionally the denial to self-rule and evacuation from ancestral land served as a major blow to the growth and culture of the Native Americans. They were forced to abandon land, which was dear to their culture and beliefs (Wallace, 183).
Work Cited
Cherokee Nation. John Burnett’s Story of the Trail of Tears.2011. Web. October 3, 2012 <http://www.cherokee.org/AboutTheNation/History/TrailofTears/24502/Information.aspx >
Remini, Robert V. “Brothers, Listen . . . You Must Submit” Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Issues in American History, Eighth Edition, Vol. 1. (2000): 162-171.Print.
Wallace, Anthony F.C. “The Long, Bitter Trail: Andrew Jackson and the Indians.” Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Issues in American History, Eighth Edition, Vol.1. (2000): 172-179.Print.
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