What issues and events led to the mass removal of Native Americans in the 1840s? What role did Andrew Jackson play in the Trail of Tears? What does his response to the removal reveal about Jackson’s vision of democracy?
Early 1830s, hundreds of Native Americans lived on acres of land in Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Alabama. However, the Europeans that began to inhabit the western frontier were scared of the Native Americans that they came in contact with. They were scared of what they did not know and they wanted the land that the Native Americans were living on. At first white Americans thought that if they could simply civilize Native Americans and make them more like white Americans then they would be more open to European ways. However, as the number of white Americans grew the land owned by the Native Americans was craved even more. White Americans began burning down the homes of Native Americans and looted their towns and homes, squatting on land they did not own. Instead of the government doing the right thing, the government aided white settlers in driving Native Americans from their homes and off their lands. …show more content…
The President at the time, President Andrew Jackson was an advocate of what he referred to as “Indian removal.” In 1830, he signed the Indian Removal Act, giving the federal government the power to exchange unsettled land west of the Mississippi for Native American lands within the existing state borders. During this time some tribes moved peacefully but many resisted to relocation policy.
In the winter of 1831, the Choctaw Native Americans, one of the five peaceful tribes, was the first Indian nation to be totally kicked off of their lands by the U.S. Army. They traveled to the new Indian Territory on foot without any supplies, food or help from the government. In 1836, the Creeks, another member of the Five Civilized Tribes were driven from their lands. By the 1840s, a countless number of Native Americans had been driven from their lands by white settlers with the approval of the federal government. This became known as the “Trail of Tears.” At the time of the “Trail of Tears” Andrew Jackson, a prominent General during the War of 1812, was President. When he took to office the concept known as Jacksonian Democracy was born. Under Jackson’s presidency, the Democratic party developed three main qualities, which were to be the party of ordinary farmers and workers, to oppose the special privileges of economic elites, and to offer affordable western land to ordinary white Americans. Jackson’s form of democracy brought together the best and worst parts of American society. It was clear that he did not understand the way democracy. Overall the “Trail of Tears” greatly upset the Native American people that had inhabited the land before the settlers came to the Americas. The five tribes that were deemed to be the civilized tribes dubbed so by the white Americans felt hurt and betrayed by the actions of not only the settlers but also by the federal government. The Cherokee people that were victims of the white settler’s ill treatment became divided on what to do about the situation the white people had put them in by forcing them to leave their lands. There were some members of
Early 1830s, hundreds of Native Americans lived on acres of land in Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Alabama. However, the Europeans that began to inhabit the western frontier were scared of the Native Americans that they came in contact with. They were scared of what they did not know and they wanted the land that the Native Americans were living on. At first white Americans thought that if they could simply civilize Native Americans and make them more like white Americans then they would be more open to European ways. However, as the number of white Americans grew the land owned by the Native Americans was craved even more. White Americans began burning down the homes of Native Americans and looted their towns and homes, squatting on land they did not own. Instead of the government doing the right thing, the government aided white settlers in driving Native Americans from their homes and off their lands. …show more content…
The President at the time, President Andrew Jackson was an advocate of what he referred to as “Indian removal.” In 1830, he signed the Indian Removal Act, giving the federal government the power to exchange unsettled land west of the Mississippi for Native American lands within the existing state borders. During this time some tribes moved peacefully but many resisted to relocation policy.
In the winter of 1831, the Choctaw Native Americans, one of the five peaceful tribes, was the first Indian nation to be totally kicked off of their lands by the U.S. Army. They traveled to the new Indian Territory on foot without any supplies, food or help from the government. In 1836, the Creeks, another member of the Five Civilized Tribes were driven from their lands. By the 1840s, a countless number of Native Americans had been driven from their lands by white settlers with the approval of the federal government. This became known as the “Trail of Tears.” At the time of the “Trail of Tears” Andrew Jackson, a prominent General during the War of 1812, was President. When he took to office the concept known as Jacksonian Democracy was born. Under Jackson’s presidency, the Democratic party developed three main qualities, which were to be the party of ordinary farmers and workers, to oppose the special privileges of economic elites, and to offer affordable western land to ordinary white Americans. Jackson’s form of democracy brought together the best and worst parts of American society. It was clear that he did not understand the way democracy. Overall the “Trail of Tears” greatly upset the Native American people that had inhabited the land before the settlers came to the Americas. The five tribes that were deemed to be the civilized tribes dubbed so by the white Americans felt hurt and betrayed by the actions of not only the settlers but also by the federal government. The Cherokee people that were victims of the white settler’s ill treatment became divided on what to do about the situation the white people had put them in by forcing them to leave their lands. There were some members of