Andrew Jackson and The Indian Removal Act
Andrew Jackson's lack of positive actions and policies ultimatelyforced the westward migration of the "five civilized" Native Americantribes, the Creeks, Chickasaws, Seminoles, Cherokees and Choctaws.Jackson's failure to enforce his early promise that the migration of theNative American tribes would be voluntary was a major factor in the successof the forced migration, as were Jackson's repeated failures to ensure thattreaties with Native Americans were kept and that land deals with NativeAmericans were not fraudulent. In addition, other legislation like theIndian Trade and Intercourse Act of 1834 resulted in more migration out ofthe area, by reducing native rights and sovereignty. Further, Jackson'srole in forwarding the forced migrations was likely motivated by a desirefor profit and land, political concerns, and racism. In The Long, Bitter Trail: Andrew Jackson and the Indians, AnthonyWallace describes the forced removal of thousands of Native Americans fromthe American east to an area west of the Mississippi River through theIndian Removal Act of 1830. The author focuses on how the policies ofAndrew Jackson impacted the relocation, who as a newly elected president
Wallace's book, The Long, Bitter Trail, describes the Native Americanpopulation that Jackson sought to displace as society that was a welldeveloped society with a strong basis in agricultural practice. Jacksonmet this resistance with an equal or greater resolve to see the migrationcontinue. Ultimately, Jackson became on of the most vocal and active ofthe proponents of the forced removal of the Native Americans. Other Native American groups like theChoctaws simply resigned themselves to the removal, seeing the military andcultural power of the white settlers as too great for an effectiveresistance. In conclusion, American President Andrew Jackson played an importantrole in the forced removal of the Creek, Chickasaw, Seminole, Cherokee andChoctaw tribes on the Trail of Tears in the mid 1800s. White settlers wasted little time moving in, and the characterof the former Native Lands was changed forever. He haswritten a number of books, including the Bancroft prize-winning Rockdale(1978). His overt actionsincluded passing the Indian Removal Act of 1830, and the Indian Trade andIntercourse Act of 1834, both of which played a tremendous role in theforced migration of these "five civilized" tribes. In many ways, Jackson's failure to act on specific promises and hisfailures to make positive actions and policies played an absolutely crucialrole in the forced migration of the "five civilized" tribes. Andrew Jackson's lack of positive actions and policies played animportant role in the westward migration of the five "civilized tribes". Jackson justified his support for the Indian Removal Act by arguingthat the Act would effectively save the Indians from extinction that wouldinevitably occur at the hands of white settlers who wanted their lands. Today, the area that theIndians were relocated to is based in the state of Oklahoma. A professor of history and anthropology at the University ofPennsylvania, Wallace is clearly qualified to write this history. The last ofthe Cherokee removed under the law were forced onto the march a mere twoyears after Jackson's final term was over.
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