¶ … Andrew Jackson [...] how the exaltation of the common man, the sense of America as a redeemer nation destined for expansion across the North American continent, and white Americans' racial attitudes toward Native Americans east of the Mississippi River combined to produce a federal policy of Indian removal. Jackson was a popular president who helped perpetuate prejudice and racial inequality with his practices regarding the Native Americans. His Indian Removal Act of 1830 was one of the darkest legislations in American history, and it created lasting animosity between Native Americans and white settlers.
Many Americans viewed Andrew Jackson as a "common man" who had risen through the ranks in the Army, won fame during the epic Battle of New Orleans in 1815, and attained success as a merchant and farmer. One man said of him when he died, "Born a simple citizen, of poor but respectable parents, he became great by no other means than the energy of his own character, and being, as he seems to have been, the favourite of nature and Heaven! Had he been born to wealth and influence, he might probably have lived and died, an obscure and ordinary man!" (Ward 166). Because of this, Jackson was a popular president, who became even more popular as he helped expand the westward frontier by removing the local Native Americans, leaving more area open to settlement by white Americans.
During this time in America's history, Americans were used to feeling victorious, especially over European foes. They had beaten the British during the Revolutionary War and again during the War of 1812, they had purchased a vast amount of land from the
They continually saw their victories as conquests over "savage tyranny and decadence" (Ward 40). Thus, they felt there were "the advancing frontier of civilization, the carriers of government, religion, and social order" (Ward 40). Therefore, the "savage" Native Americans were simply in the way of modern advancement and destiny, and they had little room in the American's quest for more and better lands. In addition, Jackson's idea of Indian removal was not new, even Jefferson had thought about removing the Indians, but Jackson's idea played on the American ideals of civilization and settlement. Jackson's removal of the Indians was seen as redeeming for the Indians, because it would not only open up more land for American settlement, it would remove the Indians from civilization, where they "did not fit in," anyway. In his farewell address to the nation as President, Jackson stated the Indians were, "the original dwellers in our land are now placed in a situation where we may well hope that they will share in the blessings of civilization and be saved from the degradation and destruction to which they were rapidly hastening while they remained in the States (Ward 41). Jackson's policy was straightforward, but it perpetuated attitudes of prejudice and racism against the Native Americans as it pushed them away from the encroaching Americans.
Americans were convinced their ideas for government and expansion were not only right; they were their "inalienable" right. The Native Americans who lived on the continent long before the Pilgrims ever set foot on the East Coast were now simply inconvenient and in the way of expansion and "civilized" growth. Because most Americans held the view that Indians were "savages" and the only good Indians were those that had been Christianized and "civilized," it did not occur to them that their ideas were racist and prejudiced. They simply felt they were right, and their many victories over oppressors indicated that God was smiling on America and her actions. The removal of the Indians was inevitable in a country that saw itself as a shining light for the world.
This idea of American superiority and right to expand became known as "Manifest Destiny," and it fueled the war in…
Removal Act of May 28, 1830 was an act by both Houses of Congress of the U.S., which provided for an exchange of lands with the native Indian tribes residing in any of the states or territories and for their removal west of the Mississippi River, their traditional land, to the prairies. It was signed by then President Andrew Jackson into law. The eviction of these Indian tribes from a
The Injustice of the Indian Removal Act 1830 Introduction The Indian Removal Act signed by Andrew Jackson in 1830 was meant to establish peace in the nation and to give the Native Americans their own territory where they could practice their own activities, traditions and culture without interference from the American government. However, the Act resulted in the forced migration of thousands of Native Americans from their traditional homelands to a region
President Andrew Jackson had long pursued an aggressive approach to Native Americans before 1838-9, when 4000 Cherokee died during the forcible removal program dubbed later the "Trail of Tears" Five tribes in the Southeastern United States had been dubbed "civilized" because of their willingness to assimilate: the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole. The informal and formal agreements between Native Americans and the federal government began to fall apart due to increasing
Indian Removal How valuable is history if it is truly written by the victors of war? What remains of the historical account are only tiny fragments of what the true and whole story encapsulated. What we are left with are scraps of stories that are fragmented and skewed to the current power structures that run the institutions. Understanding this skeptical attitude is extremely important when judging an historical account. The purpose of
However, our continuing humanitarian obligation to the Indians cannot allow these primitive peoples to stand in the way of national progress. They must be removed and granted only a reasonable amount of territory. Editorial Against Indian Removal I regret to say that our potentially great nation is being sullied by the way that it has approached the question of Indian removal from the Great Desert. Largely to escape the oppression of
He was viewing them as little children who required guidance. He tended to believe that the policy of removal had great benefits to the Indians. Majority of the white Americans were thinking that United States was not capable of extending past Mississippi. The removal was capable of saving the Indian nationals from the white's depredations (Foreman 1932). The removal could make them to govern themselves peacefully It was assumed that the
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now