Indian removal

Indian removal

The Indian removal was a policy of the United States government to move many Native American tribes from their homes in the eastern United States to lands west of the Mississippi River. This happened mainly during the 1830s. It forced thousands of people from tribes such as the Cherokee, Muscogee, Seminole, Chickasaw, and Choctaw to leave their lands. Many suffered and died on a long journey called the Trail of Tears.

Settlers wanted the land where these tribes lived. As more people moved west, they wanted control over the area. Leaders in the government thought moving the tribes was necessary for new farms and towns.

The idea of moving the tribes was not new. It had been talked about for years. It became a law in 1830 when President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act. Many people supported this idea at the time, but later it was seen as very unfair and harmful to Native American people.

Background

American leaders in the early days of the country talked about how to treat Native American tribes. Some thought of them as separate nations, while others saw them as individuals.

The Declaration of Independence showed unfair views some colonists had at the time.

Benjamin Franklin suggested working closely with the Iroquois Confederacy and protecting their lands.

Early laws, like the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, tried to protect Native American rights. The Nonintercourse Act of 1790 was made to keep tribal lands safe.

President George Washington talked about treating Native Americans fairly and making peace with them.

Thomas Jefferson respected Native American culture and thought they were equal to European Americans. He hoped they would join American society or move beyond the Mississippi River.

Jeffersonian policy

Main article: Thomas Jefferson and Native Americans

When Thomas Jefferson was president, he made rules to connect Native American nations to the United States. He wanted Native Americans to start farming instead of hunting, hoping this would bring them closer to American life. Jefferson thought that by changing their ways, Native Americans might give up their land or move west of the Mississippi River.

Jefferson tried to be friends with many Native American tribes and promised to help them. However, he also talked about moving tribes that did not agree with American growth west of the Mississippi River. He believed that if Native Americans farmed, they would need things from American settlers and might agree to give up their land.

John C. Calhoun's plan

Under President James Monroe, Secretary of War John C. Calhoun made plans to move Native American tribes from their homes east of the Mississippi River to lands west of the river. Monroe approved these plans in late 1824 and asked the Senate to create the Arkansaw and Indian Territories. The Senate agreed, but a bill to make this happen was stopped by the Georgia delegation.

President John Quincy Adams continued this plan, trying to move the tribes without using force. However, Georgia did not agree, so Adams made a treaty with the Cherokees giving Georgia their lands. In 1827, the Cherokee Nation created a written constitution, declaring themselves an independent nation with control over their own lands. Georgia disagreed, saying it would not allow another nation within its borders and claimed control over Cherokee territory.

When Andrew Jackson became president as the candidate of the newly-organized Democratic Party, he agreed that tribes should be moved from their eastern lands to lands in the west, and he strongly enforced this policy.

Opposition to removal from US citizens

Some people in the United States did not agree with moving Native American tribes from their homes. They thought it was unfair and wrong. Famous writers like John Neal wrote stories to show they were against it. Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote a letter saying the government's actions were unfair. He asked the president to stop the removal of the Cherokee people from their land in Georgia. Many other people and groups also spoke out against this policy.

Native American response to removal

Native American groups changed their governments and made new rules. They sent leaders to Washington to talk with leaders there. They wanted to protect their lands and keep their way of life.

Some Native American nations wanted to stay where they were. Others thought moving might help them keep their traditions. The United States sometimes made agreements with smaller groups who thought moving was better. But many people in these groups did not agree with these agreements. If groups did not move by a certain time, the United States could use soldiers to make them move.

Indian Removal Act

See also: Presidency of Andrew Jackson § Indian removal

When Andrew Jackson became president in 1829, he wanted to move Native American tribes from their homes east of the Mississippi River to lands west of the river, in what is now Oklahoma. He thought this would help tribes live far away from white settlers.

In 1830, Jackson asked Congress to pass a law called the Indian Removal Act. After talking about it, Congress passed the law and Jackson signed it on May 30, 1830. The law let the president make treaties to trade land with tribes, moving them west of the Mississippi.

Many tribes, such as the Choctaw, Cherokee, Seminole, Creek, and Chickasaw, were affected by this policy. Some tribes agreed to move, while others did not. The forced moves were very hard for the tribes, and many people had a hard time during the journey. The place where they were moved to became known as Indian Territory.

Removals

North

Tribes in the Old Northwest were smaller and more separated, so moving them happened step by step. After the Northwest Indian War, most of the modern state of Ohio was taken from native nations in the 1795 Treaty of Greenville. Tribes such as the already-moved Lenape (Delaware tribe), Kickapoo, and Shawnee, were removed from Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio during the 1820s. The Potawatomi were forced out of Wisconsin and Michigan in late 1838 and moved to Kansas Territory. Communities staying in present-day Ohio were forced to move to Louisiana, which was then controlled by Spain.

Groups of Shawnee, Odawa, Potawatomi, Sauk, and Meskwaki (Fox) signed agreements and moved to the Indian Territory. In 1832, the Sauk leader Black Hawk led a band of Sauk and Fox back to their lands in Illinois; the US Army and Illinois militia stopped them in the Black Hawk War, and the Sauk and Fox moved to present-day Iowa. The Miami split, with many moving west of the Mississippi River during the 1840s.

In the Second Treaty of Buffalo Creek (1838), the Senecas gave up all their land in New York (except for one small area) to get 200,000 acres (810 km²) of land in Indian Territory. The federal government would help move the Senecas who chose to go west, and the Ogden Land Company would get their New York lands. The lands were sold by government officials, and the money was put in the US Treasury. Maris Bryant Pierce, a "young chief" acted as a lawyer for four parts of the Seneca tribe, starting in 1838. The Senecas said they were tricked and asked for help in the Court of Claims. The case wasn’t finished until 1898, when the United States gave money to "the New York Indians". The US made agreements with the Senecas and the Tonawanda Senecas in 1842 and 1857, respectively. Under the 1857 agreement, the Tonawandas gave up all claim to lands west of the Mississippi in exchange for the right to buy back the Tonawanda Reservation from the Ogden Land Company. Over a century later, the Senecas bought a small piece of land in downtown Buffalo to build the Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino.

South

Changed perspective

Over time, people have begun to see the forced moving of Native American tribes in a sadder way. At first, many believed it was right because of a popular idea called manifest destiny. Now, many historians call this action unfair and very wrong.

Andrew Jackson's reputation

Andrew Jackson’s rules about moving Native American tribes caused a lot of discussion even before they happened. In the past, many historians focused on his strong leadership and didn’t talk much about this part of his actions. Recently, more people have criticized Jackson for how he treated Native Americans. Some historians still defend his actions, saying it may have helped protect tribes. Others strongly disagree, pointing out the harm caused by his decisions. Different historians have different views on whether his actions were very wrong or if they are being made to seem worse than they were.