One of the most tragic events that occurred in the history of America was the removal of American Indian tribes from their homelands in the Southern American states. Peace between the Indian Tribes and American agents was assured by early treaties. However, prompted by the goal of acquiring the land occupied by the Indian tribes for the settlement of the whites, President Andrew Jackson signed the “Indian Removal Act” on May 28, 1830. As a result, five native Indian tribes, the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creeks, and Seminoles were forced to sign the treaty and migrate to western land, which is now the state of Oklahoma. Along with ending the right of the Indians to live in the Southern states, it also forced them to live under the U.S. law rather their own traditional laws as they had been for quite some time. Although Christian Missionaries tried to influence Congress to oppose the act, it managed to pass by merely a one-vote margin.
The biggest argument against the Indian Removal Act was that the native Indians were there in the Southern states first and had prior claim to the land. Of course, the Indians were not initially willing to give up the land that was rightfully theirs and they turned to the federal government for support. The territorial claims of the Indians were also affirmed by a Supreme Court ruling that they won, but Jackson just ignored the ruling and went on to implement the removal policy. Peleg Sprague, the Maine Senator, also opposed Jackson’s policy and made a plea to the Congress to honor the numerous treaties that had been signed in the past that assured that the Indians tribes had a right to the lands in the Southern states and no one could remove them. Catherine Beecher, a Reform Advocate who actively participated in women’s reform groups, also opposed the implementation of the Indian Removal Act, and to support the Indian tribes she assembled American women to protest for this cause.
The migration to the west proved to be exhausting for the native Indians, they were traveling in the bitter cold, they did not have adequate supplies, cholera broke out among the tribes, and many of them died from starvation. The removal was tragic since the Indians were forced to leave behind their crops, homes, livestock, and places that were spiritually significant to them. Even after relocation in the west, the native Indians had fewer options to rebuild their lives, and had to lead a life of doom and poverty for more than 100 years. The march towards the west that the Indian tribes made under military direction became known as the “Trail of Tears” since it was a tragedy for the Indians who were being pushed out of land that rightfully belonged to them.
References
Rogin, M. (2009). Fathers and children: Andrew jackson and the subjugation of the american indian. (6 ed.). New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers.
Satz, R. N. (2002). American indian policy in the jacksonian era. Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press.
