Andrew Jackson and the American Indians, Essay Example

The Native American population in the United States had been a relatively minor problem for residents of the Southern states but as the population of the United States expanded in the early years of the 19^th century many settlers moved to the South in an effort to seek new opportunities. The tribes that had been living in the South, the Cherokee, Creek, and Seminole, had been living relatively peacefully with the white men but as more whites moved into the area many such whites viewed the Indians as a hindrance to progress. These settlers pressured the federal government to allow them to acquire Indian Territory.

Andrew Jackson, prior to becoming President, had been a strong proponent of removing the Indians occupying land in the Southern states[1]. He had actively participated in a number of battles with different Indian tribes during this time that served to weaken said tribes. Once Jackson left the army and was in the process of building his political career, he took an active part in negotiating several treaties with the Indians in which the tribes agreed to surrender their lands and move westward onto new lands. Unfortunately, from Jackson’s point of view, very few of the tribal members actually followed the terms of the treaties and remained on their tribal grounds in the Southern states.

Once Jackson became President the Indian problem in the South intensified. Jackson, who had always possessed a paternalistic and patronizing attitude toward the Indians, believed that the removal policy that the country had adopted toward the Indians was a valid one and was actually in the best interests of the Indians2. Jackson felt that the Indians would be better off isolated from the white Americans where they would be free to govern themselves and to live as they had always done. Consistent with these beliefs Jackson began a removal program that was characterized in history by the “Trail of Tears3” where over 4,000 Cherokee died before reaching their new western home. By the end of Jackson’s two terms in office, 46,000 Indians had been removed from land east of the Mississippi and relocated west.

References

World History Project, “History of the United States: Part Three, January, 2007, http://history-world.org/history_of_the_united_states3.htm.

Alfred A. Cave, “Abuse of Power: Andrew Jackson and the Indian Removal Act of 1830,” The Historian December 5, 2003, http://teacherweb.com/FL/HiddenOaksMiddleSchool/8AUSHistory/Abuse-of-Power—Andrew-Jackson-and-the-Indian-Removal-Act.pdf.

Bethany R. Berger, “Power Over this Unfortunate Race: Race, Politics and Indian Law in United States v. Rogers,” 45 William and Mary Law Review 1957 2004, http://scholarship.law.wm.edu/wmlr/vol45/iss5/3.