1. Chapter 10, Section 3
Indian Removal

2. Indian Removal Act Indian Removal Act
Passed by President Andrew Jackson in 1830
Authorized the removal of Native Americans who lived east of the Mississippi River to lands in the West
Displacement of thousands of Native Americans from the ancestral homelands they had occupied for thousands of years before European settlement
Opened land for settlement of white farmers

3. Indian Removal Act Indian Territory
Established by Congress
Present day Oklahoma
Supporters of the plan (like John C. Calhoun) argued that the removal of Native Americans would protect them from conflicts with American settlers
Bureau of Indian Affairs
Created to manage Native American removal

4. Indian Removal Act
Choctaw were first Native Americans sent to Indian Territory
Mississippi state legislature abolished the Choctaw government
Choctaw leaders were forced to sign the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek
Gave more than 7.5 million acres of land to Mississippi
Choctaw moved to Indian Territory during a disastrous winter trip
Federal government did not provide Choctaw with enough supplies and food as they had promised
Forced to move on foot, 25% of the Choctaw died of exposure, disease, and starvation

5. Indian Removal Act
Choctaw’s plight motivated other tribes to resist removal
Creek resistance led to their capture by federal troop
Forced to Indian Territory in chains
Chickasaw
Tried to negotiate better supplies for their trip
Many Chickasaw still perished on the journey

7. Cherokee Resistance
Cherokee held the belief that they could prevent conflicts and avoid removal by using moderate assimilation
Invited missionaries to set up schools where Cherokee children learned to read and write in English
Developed their own government modeled after the US Constitution
Created by Sequoya, used 86 characters to create their own writing system
Began publishing a newspaper in both English and Cherokee

8. Cherokee Resistance
Assimilation attempts did not protect them from removal
After gold was discovered on their land in Georgia, their treaty rights were ignored
Georgia leaders prepared for their removal
Refusal to move led to attacks from the Georgia militia
Cherokee sued the state
Worcester v Georgia
Supreme Court Justice John Marshall ruled that the Cherokee Nation was a distinct community in which the laws of Georgia had no force

9. Cherokee Resistance
Georgia ignored the Supreme Court ruling and President Andrew Jackson took no action to enforce it
“John Marshall made his decision; now let him enforce it”
By not enforcing the court’s decision, President Andrew Jackson violated his oath of office to uphold the laws of the land

10. Cherokee Resistance Spring 1838 Trail of Tears Cherokee Removal
Some escaped to North Carolina
After removal, the state of Georgia took their businesses, farms, and property
Trail of Tears
Forced Cherokee march to Indian Territory
18,000 (25%) of the Cherokees perished from disease, hunger, and exposure

11. Other Native Americans Resist
Other Native American Nations decided to fight against removal
Black Hawk
Leader of Fox and Sauk Native Americans
Led his people in a struggle to protect their lands in Illinois
Due to lack of food, they were forced to leave by 1850
Seminole
Osceola
Seminole leader who called upon his people to resist with force
Second Seminole War
Osceola captured and died in prison
Seminoles eventually forced to move or were killed