Native Americans had lived on fertile farmlands stretching across the South for countless
generations.
However, President Andrew Jackson wanted those lands open for settlement to American farmers.
How did Jackson go about doing this?
During Andrew Jackson’s second term, he pressured Congress to pass a bill that would
authorize the purchase of Native American lands and require the Five Civilized Tribes
to move to lands west of the Mississippi River.
The bill, known as the Indian Removal Act, would impact the Cherokee, Choctaw, Creek,
Chickasaw, and Seminole nations.
Congress established Indian Territory, in present-day Oklahoma, to provide an area for
the resettlement of the tribes.
Jackson, along with supporters of the law, such as John C. Calhoun, argued that the policy
of assimilating the tribes into white society had failed.
Jackson also insisted that the policy of Indian Removal would protect the tribes from encroachment
on their lands and potential extermination due to conflicts with American settlers.
Jackson’s removal policy did face strong opposition in Congress, but moves to block
it failed by only a handful of votes.
Congress authorized the Indian Removal Act in 1830, and President Jackson signed it into
law.
The bill gave Jackson the authority to make treaties with the tribes and use whatever
force was necessary to carry out their displacement.
To oversee the removal of the tribes, Congress created a new federal agency known as the
Bureau of Indian Affairs.
The Choctaw were the first tribe sent to Indian Territory.
In Mississippi, the state legislature abolished the tribal government and forced several chiefs
to sign a treaty agreeing to give up 7.5 million acres of land.
The enforcement of the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek led to a disaster for the Choctaw people
as they were forced to march to Indian Territory during the winter.
Nearly one-fourth of the tribe died as a result of starvation, cold, or disease.
The Chickasaw, who also lived in Mississippi, cooperated with the US government and the
Choctaw to carry out their removal.
Rather than receiving land in Indian Territory, they settled in the new Choctaw territory.
They also purchased much of their own supplies and made the move voluntarily.
As the Chickasaw were allowed to manage a great deal of their removal process, they
faced a much less difficult journey.
News of the suffering the Choctaw endured led to resistance from the remaining tribes.
Federal troops were sent to stop a Creek uprising in 1836, and thousands were forced to Indian
Territory in chains.
By 1837, more than 15,000 Creeks had arrived at Fort Gibson in Indian Territory.
However, it is estimated that more than 3,000 did not survive.
The Cherokee, considered the most assimilated of the five tribes, hoped to maintain their
lands and avoid conflict by adopting the culture of the white man.
For more than thirty years, Christian missionaries had lived amongst the Cherokee.
Schools were established, and Cherokee children learned to read and write in English.
Many Cherokee lived in the same style of homes and wore the same clothing as the whites who
lived in Georgia.
The Cherokee also established their own constitution and published a newspaper in English.
The efforts at assimilation did not protect the Cherokee.
When gold was discovered on their land, their treaty rights and territorial boundaries were
ignored.
The state of Georgia began preparing for the tribe’s removal, and the Cherokee sued for
the right to remain on their land.
After the original case, Cherokee v. Georgia, was thrown out by the Supreme Court, a second
case, involving a Christian missionary named Samuel Worcester, ruled that the Cherokee
nation was a distinct community and that the laws of Georgia held no force over them.
Despite this decision, Georgia proceeded with its plans to remove the Cherokee.
Chief Justice John Marshall had ruled in Worcester v. Georgia that only the federal government,
not the states, had authority over the tribes.
As Chief Executive, the responsibility of enforcing the Court’s decision fell upon
Andrew Jackson.
When Georgia ignored the ruling, Jackson reportedly said, "John Marshall has made his decision;
now let him enforce it!"
The forced removal of the Cherokee began during the presidency of Martin Van Buren.
In 1838, 7,000 soldiers, led by General Winfield Scott, began rounding up the Cherokee.
Members of the tribe were forced into a winter march to Indian Territory.
Many had no shoes or blankets, and the food provided by the US government was rotten.
Due to cold, starvation, and cholera, some 4,000 Cherokee perished.
The 2,200-mile journey became known as the Trail of Tears.
While the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, and Cherokee failed in their attempts to maintain their
tribal lands, the Seminole were somewhat successful.
When the tribe resisted removal, a Second Seminole War began.
US troops were sent to put down Chief Osceola’s resistance, but their efforts proved largely
ineffective.
Osceola was captured, and some 4,000 Seminole were moved, but most of the tribe remained
in Florida where their descendants live to this day.