Causes of Indian Removal

Indian Removal Act

By Charles Bullins

Indian Removal Act

​Native Americans had long lived in settlements stretching from Georgia to Mississippi. However, President Jackson and other political leaders wanted to open this land to settlement by American farmers. Opening new land to white settlement would also increase economic development. Under pressure from President Jackson, Congress passed the Indian Removal Act in 1830. This policy toward American Indian nations authorized the removal of Native Americans who lived east of the Mississippi River to lands in the West.

​Congress then established Indian Territory—U.S. land in what is now Oklahoma—and planned to move Native Americans there. Some supporters of this plan, like John C. Calhoun, argued that removal to Indian Territory would protect Indians from further conflicts with American settlers.

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“One of the greatest evils to which they are subject is that incessant [constant] pressure of our population,” he noted. “To guard against this evil . . . there ought to be the strongest . . . assurance that the country given [to] them should be theirs.” To manage Indian removal to western lands, Congress approved the creation of a new government agency, the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Multiple Choice

In 1830, President ____________________ pushed the Indian Removal Act through Congress

• John Quincy Adams

• Henry Clay

• Andrew Jackson

• James Madison

Multiple Choice

Which Act First allowed the Federal Government to pay Native Americans to move west?

• Federal Act

• Indian Removal Act

• Native American Act

• Settlers Act

Multiple Choice

Where was most of the area set aside for Native Americans in 1834 located today?

• Texas

• Oklahoma

• Dakota

• New Mexico

​The Choctaw were the first Indians sent to Indian Territory. The Mississippi legislature abolished the Choctaw government and then forced the Choctaw leaders to sign the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek. This treaty gave more than 7.5 million acres of their land to the state. The Choctaw moved to Indian Territory during a disastrous winter trip. Federal officials did not provide enough food or supplies to the Choctaw, most of whom were on foot. About one-fourth of the Choctaw died of cold, disease, or starvation.

​Many Cherokee had believed that they could prevent conflicts and avoid removal by adopting the contemporary culture of white people. In the early 1800s they invited missionaries to set up schools where Cherokee children learned how to read and write in English. The Cherokee developed their own government modeled after the U.S. Constitution with an election system, a bicameral council, and a court system. All of these were headed by a principal chief.

​A Cherokee named Sequoya used 86 characters to represent Cherokee syllables to create a writing system for their own complex language. In 1828 his contribution led the Cherokee to begin publishing a newspaper printed in both English and Cherokee.

​The adoption of white culture did not protect the Cherokee. After gold was discovered on their land in Georgia, their treaty rights were ignored. Georgia leaders began preparing for the Cherokee’s removal. When they refused to move, the Georgia militia began attacking Cherokee towns. Instead of responding with force, the Cherokee fought in the American court, or judicial, system.

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They sued the federal government, claiming that they had sovereignty, or the right to be respected as a foreign country. The case, the Cherokee Nation v. Georgia reached the Supreme Court in 1831. Chief Justice John Marshall, however, refused to hear the case. He ruled that the Cherokee had no right to bring suit since they were neither citizens nor a foreign country.

​In 1832 the Supreme Court, under the leadership of Chief Justice John Marshall, agreed. In Worcester v. Georgia the Court ruled that the Cherokee nation was a distinct community in which the laws of Georgia had no force. The Court also stated that only the federal government, not the states, had authority over Native Americans.

Georgia, however, ignored the Court’s ruling, and President Jackson’s response was to take no action to make Georgia follow the ruling.

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“John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it,” Jackson supposedly said. By not enforcing the Court’s decision, Jackson violated his presidential oath to uphold the laws of the land. However, most members of Congress and American citizens did not protest the ways Jackson removed Native Americans. This contributed to the struggle between the Cherokee nation and the United States government.

Multiple Choice

The Cherokee Nation v. Georgia court case

• gave the Cherokee the right to become their own sovereign nation

• was a huge victory for the Cherokee and all Indian Tribes

• was not heard by the Supreme court because they did not recognize the Cherokee as a sovereign nation

• gave the Cherokee thousands of acres of land in Georgia

Multiple Choice

What state vs. Cherokee was a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case?

• Minnesota
• Oklahoma
• Alambama
• Georgia

​In the spring of 1838, U.S. troops began to remove all Cherokee and resettle them in Indian Territory. A few were able to escape and hide in the mountains of North Carolina. After the Cherokee were removed, Georgia took their businesses, farms, and property.

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The Cherokee’s 800-mile forced march became known as the Trail of Tears. During the march, the Cherokee suffered from disease, hunger, and exposure to harsh weather. Almost one-fourth of the 18,000 Cherokee died on the march.

Multiple Choice

Why was it called the "Trail of Tears?"

• Harsh conditions
• There were many deaths
• People cried over the loss of their "homeland"
• All of the above

Multiple Choice

The consequences of the Indian Removal Act were

• 1/4 of the people that traveled the Trail of Tears died

• Native Americans were pushed onto land that was not suitable for their way of life

• the government established a pattern of treating Native Americans as being inferior

• all of these