US History Essay 2

This is my final essay (and test) for US History. This article is somewhat one-sided, so keep that in mind when you read through it. I slanted it in a way that I thought my teacher would appreciate. Nowadays, I would have written it differently, but here it is anyway.

Indian Relocation

By Josiah Teal

In the early years of the 19^th century, several defining factors played key roles in the making of the American nation as it is today; not the least of which was the treatment of the American Indians. This issue is still discussed among our European neighbors across the Atlantic, as well as by many Americans. Often while discussing current American politics and policies, I have bumped into people, most of whom come from Europe, who insist on using these events as a reason why America is not to be admired. It is because of this that I have chosen to write about the Indian Relocation Act and the events by which it was surrounded.

In the mind of many American settlers in the opening of the 19^th century was the idea that the “problem” of the American Indians would soon disappear into thin air and the land that was left behind would be theirs for the taking. When the Indian tribes in the southern portions of the United States instead formed their own system of government that strongly mirrored that of the U.S., many farmers and homesteaders realized that the Indian land they desired would not be opening up for prime real estate, as they had previously thought. It wasn’t long before the settlers and even the state of Georgia became involved in the attempt to remove the Indians from their land.

During the 1820’s, attempts were made by the federal government to convince the tribes in the east to move further west, an offer which many Indians took up. Many others on the other hand, chose to stay and resisted the attempts by whites to get them to move westward. When Indians failed to do as they were expected, Caucasian politicians and businessmen sought to swindle them out of their territories and even began to enact legislature that favored the European motives and cheated Natives. One such case, the 1825 Treaty of Indian Springs, was so unbelievably ridiculous that President Adams felt the need to step in and overturn and ratify the treaty, calling for a new one.

If the Indian tribes in the area of the southeast had any support at all from the federal government, it wasn’t nearly enough. The Prairie du Chien treaties were meant to gradually remove northwestern tribes to the west side of the Mississippi; however, settlers lured by rumors of gold began to pour into these lands prematurely, causing Indians to resist the “invasion” with force. In 1827, the Winnebagos, under the direction of Red Bird, raided mining outposts and causing a stir in what was still legally their own territory. Settlers however, were less certain that the territory still belonged to the Indians and urged the government to assist by sending troops to quell the Indian “rebellion,” a request to which President Adams complied, despite the fact that it was still illegal to do so. Red Bird and his people were driven out of their own land.

When Andrew Jackson was elected as the 6^th president of the United States in 1828, the native populations were in for some rough roads. In 1817, Jackson had told President Monroe, “I have long viewed treaties with the Indians an absurdity not to be reconciled to the principles of our government.” Jackson’s view of the Indians was clearly not a stellar one, and his future actions would further demonstrate that fact. In 1830, Jackson prompted Congress to pass the Indian Removal Act, a harsh decision that would cost up to 4,000 Native American lives. Indians living in the southeast now had to pack up and move west of the Mississippi, where land had been purchased for the purpose of their resettlement.

At one point, white land grabbers began to infringe upon Indian territory in Missouri and, instead of ruling that the whites were not to do so, Jackson had federal troops forcibly remove the Indians from their land. One Indian was chief known as Black Hawk, led a band of warriors on a crusade back to their “home.” Black Hawk and his warriors clung to their claim until federal troops killed more than three hundred Indians and captured Black Hawk.

At the same time, whites living in the south were beginning to harass the Cherokee tribes. By that time, the Cherokee had drafted their own written constitution, established their own newspapers, and created their own steady economy. All out of selfishness, the white men began to demand the land upon which the Indians were living. Georgia legislature sided with the white men, of course, and the Cherokee constitution was soon annulled by the state. Indians rights began to steadily diminish and despite an attempt to appeal the treatment in higher courts. Despite the efforts of various white men (including Congressman Davy Crockett) to help the cause, the Cherokees lost their appeal and were forced to move.

It was then that the infamous “Trail of Tears,” or more directly “The Trail Where They Cried,” took place. In an article titled “Forced Removal,” authors Christine Graf and Andrew Matthews write, “In May 1838, army troops began rounding up the Cherokees, removing them from their homes and imprisoning them in stockaded forts. In the fall, the Indians began a forced walk of almost 1,200 miles from Georgia to Oklahoma. The sick, the young, and the elderly rode in wagons, while the others trudged on foot through difficult weather. At night, exhausted, they slept on the frozen ground, covered only by thin blankets.” Almost one fourth of the Cherokee that set out from Georgia died along the trail to Oklahoma.

The Trail of Tears is a stain upon the American flag, one that unfortunately we will never be able to cleanse. It is a stain rivaled by only the treatment of African-Americans throughout the 18^th,19^th, and early 20^th century, and the Japanese-American internment of 1942. The decision to remove the Indians from large sections of the Eastern U.S. had drastic implications for America. No longer would there be a nearly separate nation of Cherokee in the southeast, and forever would we be plagued by the tragedy of the Trail of Tears. Those fateful years would do their job at alienating the Indians from us for years to come.

Berkin, Carol; Miller, Christopher L.; Cherny, Robert W.; and James L. Gormly. Making America: A History of the United States. 5^th ed. Boston Ma: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1998

Graf, Christine, and Andrew Matthews. "Forced removal.(removal of Cherokee Indians from their lands)." Cobblestone 29.1 (Jan 2008): 12(2). General OneFile. Gale. Finger Lakes Com College Library - SUNY. 7 Dec. 2008 .