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Main article: Trail of Tears

Indian Removal was a nineteenth century policy of the government of the United States that sought to relocate American Indian (or "Native American") tribes living east of the Mississippi River to lands west of the river. The Trail of Tears was the forced relocation of Native Americans from their homelands to Indian Territory (present day Oklahoma in the Western United States The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States The Mississippi River is the second longest River in the United States, with a length of from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to

The reasoning behind the removal of Native Americans was Americans' hunger for land (stemming from Andrew Jackson’s talk of “agriculture, manufacture, and civilization”), though not all Americans supported the policy as many poor white frontiersmen were neighbors and often friends to the Native Americans. Andrew Jackson (March 15 1767 June 8 1845 was the seventh President of the United States (1829&ndash1837 Principally, it was the result of Americans who envisioned a cultivated and organized nation of prospering cities and productive communities which fueled the forces of removal.

The growth of populations, cities, transportation systems, and commerce in the decades following the American Revolution created demand for agricultural development. In this article the inhabitants of the thirteen colonies that supported the American Revolution are primarily referred to as "Americans" with occasional references to "Patriots" President Jackson and his followers, recognizing the Indians were in their way, set out to civilly and gently move them out of the way. [1] This resulted in numerous treaties in which lands were purchased from Native Americans. Eventually, the U. S. government began encouraging Native American tribes to sell their land by offering them land in the West, outside the boundaries of the then-existing U. The Western United States &mdashcommonly referred to as the American West or simply the West &mdashtraditionally refers to the region comprising the westernmost S. states, where the tribes could resettle.

This process rapidly increased with the passage of the Indian Removal Act of 1830, which provided funds for President Andrew Jackson to conduct land-exchange treaties. The Indian Removal Act, part of a United States government policy known as Indian removal, was signed into law by President Andrew Jackson on May 26 Andrew Jackson (March 15 1767 June 8 1845 was the seventh President of the United States (1829&ndash1837 An estimated 100,000 American Indians eventually relocated in the West as a result of this policy, most of them emigrating during the 1830s, settling in what was known as the, "Indian territory" or the present state of Oklahoma. The Indian Territory, also known as The Indian Country, The Indian territory or the Indian territories, was land set aside within the United States Oklahoma ( is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. [2] Those native Americans who chose to produce and prosper were, of course, free to purchase as much of the land as they wished.

However, the Removal Act didn’t directly force Native Americans from their land. Many Native Americans didn’t have the food or means of transportation to make a journey west of the Mississippi, so the Removal Act was a way to enable Native Americans to move west. According to the federal laws that were put in place to oversee the expedition, the government was to provide food and transportation for the Native Americans, and if they stayed, then they would no longer be protected or given funds.

To most Native Americans, the problems with leaving their land were more than just lack of resources. Native Americans’ land was their heritage and their history. The Native Americans’ way of life was already greatly disrupted by the white society, with its formal government, ideas of private property ownership, and their notions that a man's mind was the source of his power and his productivity its expression. What little the Native Americans could retain of their past, and the very meaning of their lives was now being taken away. [3].

The Jackson administration put great pressure on tribal leaders to sign removal treaties. This pressure, plus the added shame of seeing themselves reduced to obstacles for men of great achievement, created bitter divisions within American Indian nations, as different tribal leaders advocated different responses to the question of removal. Sometimes, U. S. government officials ignored tribal leaders who resisted signing removal treaties and dealt with those who favored removal. The Treaty of New Echota, for example, was signed by a faction of prominent Cherokee leaders, but not by the elected tribal leadership. The Treaty of New Echota was a removal treaty signed in New Echota, Georgia by officials of the United States government and several members The Cherokee (ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯ a-ni-yv-wi-ya, in the Cherokee language) are a people native to North America, who at the time of European contact The terms of the treaty were enforced by President Martin Van Buren, which resulted in the deaths of an estimated 4,000 Cherokees (mostly from disease) on the Trail of Tears. Martin Van Buren (December 5 1782 July 24 1862 was the eighth President of the United States from 1837 to 1841 The Trail of Tears was the forced relocation of Native Americans from their homelands to Indian Territory (present day Oklahoma in the Western United States

Regrettably, the mass exodus of Native Americans were unable to provide themselves with proper provisions of food and transportation, and were reduced to limping off the land which they once proudly occupied. The Choctaw tribe also suffered greatly from disease during removal, and were unable to keep themselves clean and fed enough to prevent the decimation of their numbers due to these illnesses. The Choctaw are a Native American people originally from the Southeastern United States ( Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana) The Choctaws were very against removal, but their fifty delegates were easily bribed with money and land to sign the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek, which ceded their land east of the Mississippi to the United States. See also Choctaw The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek was a Treaty signed on September 27, 1830 (and proclaimed on 24 February The army that led the thirteen thousand Choctaws on their journey was dis-organized, and because of their ineptitude, but through no fault of the Native Americans, their food quickly ran out and their children began to starve. Many died of pneumonia in the winter, and of cholera in the summer. The seven thousand Choctaws left behind saw the conditions of the trek and refused to go, choosing to accept the subjugation that had become their nature, over the certain death of vacating, while left to their own devices. [4].

The suffering which resulted from Indian Removal was aggravated by poor administration on the part of the American Government, inadequate measures taken to provide for the emigrants (because contracts for transport and provisions were often awarded to the lowest bidder, costs and services were cut), and failure to protect Native American legal rights before and after emigration. Most American Indians reluctantly but peacefully complied with the terms of the removal treaties, often with bitter resignation at being forced to acknowledge the low condition into which their failure to prosper had led them.

Some groups, however, went to war to resist the implementation of removal treaties. This resulted in two short wars (the Black Hawk War of 1832 and the Second Creek War of 1836), as well as the long and costly Second Seminole War (1835–1842). The Black Hawk War was fought in 1832 in the Midwestern United States. The Second Seminole War, also known as the Florida War, was a conflict from 1835 to 1842 in Florida between various groups of Native Americans collectively

Contents

Background

Since the presidency of Thomas Jefferson, America's policy had been to allow Indians to remain east of the Mississippi as long as they became assimilated or "civilized. Thomas Jefferson (April 13 1743 – July 4 1826 was the third President of the United States (1801–1809 the principal author of the Declaration of Independence A region or society where several different groups are spontaneously assimilated is sometimes referred to as a Melting pot. A Civilization is a society in which large numbers of people share a variety of common elements " They were to settle in one place, divide communal land into private property, and adopt democracy. Essentially the Indians were to give up practicing their forms of paganism and their native languages in favor of Christianity and English. Like other religions Native American belief systems include many sacred narratives Indigenous languages of the Americas (or Amerindian Languages are spoken by indigenous peoples from the southern tip of South America to Alaska and Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States

There was a long history of Indian land being purchased, usually by treaty and sometimes under coercion. In the early 19th century the notion of "land exchange" developed and began to be incorporated into land cession treaties. Indians would relinquish land in the east in exchange for equal or comparable land west of the Mississippi River. This idea was proposed as early as 1803, by Jefferson, but was not used in actual treaties until 1817, when the Cherokee agreed to cede two large tracts of land in the east for one of equal size in present-day Arkansas. Many other treaties of this nature quickly followed. The process culminated in the idea of exchanging all Indian land in the east for land in the west, which became law with the Indian Removal Act of 1830. [5]

Indian Removal in the South

In 1830, some of the "Five Civilized Tribes" — the Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, Seminole, and Cherokee — were still living east of the Mississippi, while others had already moved to the Indian Territory. The Five Civilized Tribes is the term applied to five Native American nations the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and The Chickasaw' are Native American people originally from the Southeastern United States (Mississippi Alabama Tennessee The Choctaw are a Native American people originally from the Southeastern United States ( Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana) The Seminole are a Native American people originally of Florida and now residing in Florida and Oklahoma. The Cherokee (ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯ a-ni-yv-wi-ya, in the Cherokee language) are a people native to North America, who at the time of European contact They were called "civilized" because many tribesmen had adopted various aspects of European-American culture, including Christianity. A European American (Euro-American is a person who resides in the United States and is either from Europe or is the descendant of European immigrants Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings The Cherokees had a system of writing their own language, developed by Sequoyah, and published a newspaper in Cherokee and English. See also Cherokee Sequoyah (ᏍᏏᏉᏱ S-si-quo-ya in Cherokee) (circa 1767 - 1843 known as George Guess,

In spite of this acculturation and acceptance of the law, the position of the tribes was not secure. Acculturation is the exchange of cultural features that results when groups come into continuous firsthand contact the original cultural patterns of either or both groups may be altered Many white settlers and land speculators simply desired the land that was occupied by the tribes. Others believed that the presence of the tribes was a threat to peace and security, based on previous wars waged between the United States and Native Americans, some of whom had been armed by enemies of the United States, such as Great Britain and Spain.

Routes of southern removals.
Routes of southern removals.

Accordingly, governments of the various U. S. states desired that all tribal lands within their boundaries be placed under state jurisdiction. In 1830, Georgia passed a law which prohibited whites from living on Indian territory after March 31, 1831 without a license from the state. The State of Georgia ( is a state in the United States and was one of the original Thirteen Colonies that revolted against British rule This law was written to justify removing white missionaries who were helping the Indians resist removal. Missionary organizer Jeremiah Evarts urged the Cherokee Nation to take their case to the U.S. Supreme Court. Jeremiah F Evarts ( February 3, 1781 – May 10, 1831) was a Christian missionary reformer and activist for the rights of American The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States and leads the federal judiciary. The Marshall court ruled that while Indian tribes were sovereign nations (Cherokee Nation v. Georgia, 1831), state laws had no force on tribal lands (Worcester v. Georgia, 1832). John Marshall (September 24 1755 – July 6 1835 was an American statesman and jurist who shaped American constitutional law and made the Supreme Court a center of power Cherokee Nation v Georgia,, was a United States Supreme Court decision Worcester v Georgia, 31 US (6 Pet 515 ( 1832) was a case in which the United States Supreme Court held that Cherokee Native Americans President Andrew Jackson is often quoted as having responded to the court by defiantly proclaiming, "John Marshall has made his decision. Now let him enforce it!" Jackson probably did not say this, although he was criticized (then and since) for making no effort to protect the tribes from state governments. [6]

Andrew Jackson and other candidates of the new Democratic Party had made Indian Removal a major goal in the campaign of 1828. The Democratic Party is one of two major Political parties in the United States, the other being the Republican Party. In 1830, Congress passed the Indian Removal Act and President Jackson signed it into law. The Indian Removal Act, part of a United States government policy known as Indian removal, was signed into law by President Andrew Jackson on May 26 The Removal Act provided for the government to negotiate removal treaties with the various tribes. The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek with the Choctaw was the first such removal treaty implemented; while around 7,000 Choctaws ultimately stayed in Mississippi, about 14,000 moved along the Red River. See also Choctaw The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek was a Treaty signed on September 27, 1830 (and proclaimed on 24 February For other uses see Red River. The Red River is one of several rivers with that name. Other treaties, like the dubious Treaty of New Echota with the Cherokee, followed, resulting in the Trail of Tears. The Treaty of New Echota was a removal treaty signed in New Echota, Georgia by officials of the United States government and several members The Trail of Tears was the forced relocation of Native Americans from their homelands to Indian Territory (present day Oklahoma in the Western United States

As a result, the five tribes were resettled in the new Indian Territory in modern-day Oklahoma and parts of Kansas. The Indian Territory, also known as The Indian Country, The Indian territory or the Indian territories, was land set aside within the United States Oklahoma ( is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. Kansas ( is a Midwestern state in the central region of the United States of America, an area often referred to as the American " Some Indians eluded removal, while those who lived on individually owned land (rather than tribal domains) were not subject to removal. Those who stayed behind eventually formed tribal groups including the Eastern Band Cherokee, based in North Carolina. North Carolina ( is a state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the southeastern United States

In 1835, the Seminoles refused to leave Florida, leading to the Second Seminole War. Florida ( is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the The Second Seminole War, also known as the Florida War, was a conflict from 1835 to 1842 in Florida between various groups of Native Americans collectively The most important leader in the war was Osceola, who led the Seminoles in their fight against removal. Osceola (1804 &ndash January 20, 1838) was a war chief of the Seminole in Florida. While based in the Everglades of Florida, Osceola and his band used surprise attacks to defeat the U. Everglades is also the name of a city in Collier County Florida S. Army in many battles. In 1837, Osceola was seized by deceit upon the orders of U. S. General T. S. Jesup when Osceola came under a flag of truce to negotiate peace[1][2]. He died in prison. The Seminoles continued to fight. Some traveled deeper into the Everglades, while others moved west. The Second Seminole War ended in 1842, when the United States won.

Southern Removals:

Nation Population east of the Mississippi before removal treaty Removal treaty
(year signed)		 Years of major emigration Total number emigrated or forcibly removed Number stayed in Southeast Deaths during removal Deaths from warfare
Choctaw 19,554 [7] Dancing Rabbit Creek (1830) 1831-1836 12,500 7,000 [8] 2,000-4,000+ (Cholera) n/a
Creek 22,700 + 900 black slaves [9] Cusseta (1832) 1834-1837 19,600 [10] ? 3,500 (disease after removal)[11] ? (Second Creek War)
Chickasaw 4,914 + 1,156 black slaves Pontotoc Creek (1832) 1837-1847 over 4,000 hundreds a few from disease n/a
Cherokee 21,500
+ 2,000 black slaves		 New Echota (1835) 1836-1838 20,000 + 2,000 slaves 1,000 2,000-8,000 n/a
Seminole 5,000 + fugitive slaves Payne's Landing (1832) 1832-1842 2,833 [12] 250-500 [13] 700 (Second Seminole War)

Many figures have been rounded. The Choctaw are a Native American people originally from the Southeastern United States ( Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana) See also Choctaw The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek was a Treaty signed on September 27, 1830 (and proclaimed on 24 February Cholera, sometimes known as Asiatic cholera or epidemic cholera, is an infectious Gastroenteritis caused by the Bacterium Treaty of Cusseta was a Treaty between the government of the United States and the Creek Nation signed March 24, 1832. The Chickasaw' are Native American people originally from the Southeastern United States (Mississippi Alabama Tennessee The Cherokee (ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯ a-ni-yv-wi-ya, in the Cherokee language) are a people native to North America, who at the time of European contact The Treaty of New Echota was a removal treaty signed in New Echota, Georgia by officials of the United States government and several members The Seminole are a Native American people originally of Florida and now residing in Florida and Oklahoma. The Treaty of Payne's Landing (Treaty with the Seminole 1832 was an agreement signed on 9 May 1832 between the government of the United States and several The Second Seminole War, also known as the Florida War, was a conflict from 1835 to 1842 in Florida between various groups of Native Americans collectively

Indian Removal in the North


Tribes north in the Old Northwest were far smaller and more fragmented than the Five Civilized Tribes, and so the treaty and emigration process was more piecemeal. For the Canadian territory see Northwest Territories. For the northwestern corner of the Lower 48 see Northwestern United States. Bands of Shawnees, Ottawas, Potawatomis, Sauks, and Foxes signed treaties and relocated to the Indian Territory. The Shawnee, or Shaawanwaki, Shaawanooki and Shaawanowi lenaweeki, are a people native to North America. The Potawatomi (also spelled Pottawatomie and Pottawatomi, among many variations) are a Native American people of the upper Mississippi "Outagamie" redirects here For the Wisconsin county see Outagamie County Wisconsin. The Indian Territory, also known as The Indian Country, The Indian territory or the Indian territories, was land set aside within the United States In 1832, a Sauk chief named Black Hawk led a band of Sauk and Fox back to their lands in Illinois. Black Hawk or Black Sparrow Hawk ( Sauk Makataimeshekiakiak ( Mahkatewi-meši-kehkehkwa) "be a large black hawk" (1767 &ndash In the Black Hawk War, the U. The Black Hawk War was fought in 1832 in the Midwestern United States. S. Army and Illinois militia defeated Black Hawk and his army. . . .

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Howard Zinn, "A People's History of The United States," chapter 7. Manifest Destiny was the belief that the United States was destined to expand from the Atlantic seaboard to the Pacific Ocean.
  2. ^ 100,000 American Indians: Russell Thornton, "The Demography of the Trail of Tears Period", in William L. Anderson, ed. , Cherokee Removal: Before and After, p. 75.
  3. ^ Howard Zinn, "A People's History of the United States", ch. 7.
  4. ^ Howard Zinn, "A People's History of The United States," pg. 105.
  5. ^ Prucha (1994), pp. 146-165.
  6. ^ Robert Remini, Andrew Jackson and his Indian Wars, page 257.
  7. ^ Foreman, p. 47 n. 10 (1830 census).
  8. ^ Several thousand more emigrated West from 1844-49; Foreman, pp. 103-4.
  9. ^ Foreman, p. 111 (1832 census).
  10. ^ Remini, p. 272.
  11. ^ Russell Thornton, "Demography of the Trail of Tears", p. 85.
  12. ^ Prucha, p. 233.
  13. ^ Low figure from Prucha, p. 233; high from Wallace, p. 101.

References

External links

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