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, and it forced thousands of people from tribes such as the Cherokee, Muscogee, Seminole, Chickasaw, and Choctaw to leave their lands. Many of them suffered and died on a long journey known as the Trail of Tears.

This policy began because settlers wanted the land where these tribes lived. As more and more people moved west, they wanted control over the area. Leaders in the government believed it was necessary to move the tribes to make room for new farms and towns.

The idea of moving the tribes was not new; it had been talked about for many years. But it became a law in 1830 when President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act. Many people at the time supported this idea, but later, historians have looked back on it with sadness and sadness, seeing it as very unfair and harmful to the Native American people.

Background

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

The Declaration of Independence described Native Americans as "merciless Indian Savages," showing the unfair views some colonists held at the time.

Benjamin Franklin once suggested forming a strong alliance with the Iroquois Confederacy and protecting their lands.

Early laws, like the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, aimed to protect Native American rights. The Nonintercourse Act of 1790 was created to safeguard tribal lands from being taken unfairly.

President George Washington spoke about treating Native Americans fairly and building peace with them. He believed that if American settlers stopped attacking, Native American raids would also stop.

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

Jeffersonian policy

Main article: Thomas Jefferson and Native Americans

When Thomas Jefferson was president, he created policies aimed at connecting Native American nations closely to the United States. He wanted Native Americans to adopt farming instead of hunting and gathering, hoping this would bring them closer to American life. Jefferson believed that by changing their ways, Native Americans might give up their land or move west of the Mississippi River.

Jefferson tried to make friends with many Native American tribes and promised help for their good works. However, he also talked about moving tribes that resisted American expansion west of the Mississippi River. He thought that if Native Americans farmed, they would need goods 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 created the first 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 disagreed with the idea of moving Native American tribes from their homes. They believed it was unfair and wrong. Famous writers like John Neal wrote stories to show their opposition, and Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote a letter saying the government's actions were unfair and should not happen. 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, created new rules, and sent leaders to Washington to talk with leaders there. They wanted to make sure their lands were protected and that they could keep their way of life.

Some Native American nations wanted to stay where they were, while others thought moving to a new place 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 believed this would help tribes live peacefully away from white settlers.

In 1830, Jackson asked Congress to pass a law called the Indian Removal Act. After much debate, Congress passed the law and Jackson signed it on May 30, 1830. The law allowed the president to make treaties to exchange 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 resisted. The forced moves were very difficult for the tribes, and many people suffered along the way. The area where they were moved to became known as Indian Territory.

Removals

North

Tribes in the Old Northwest were smaller and more separated than other tribes, 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 $1,998,714.46 (~$64.1 million in 2024) 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 9-acre (3.6 ha) piece of land (part of their original reservation) in downtown Buffalo to build the Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino.

South

Changed perspective

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

Andrew Jackson's reputation

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