Indian Removal Act of 1830 & “The Trail of Tears”

Before the Removal Act Choctaw, Chickasaw, Cherokee, Creek, and Seminole Native Americans lived in parts of Mississippi, Alabama, northern Georgia, western North Carolina, southern Tennessee, and Florida.

The Cherokees The Cherokees had adopted some White American customs. They: Farmed and ran grain and lumber mills. Had their own schools. Could speak and read English. Many converted to Christianity. Had their own written alphabet created by a leader named Sequoyah.

The Cherokee Nation 1827: The Cherokees established a government based on a written constitution. They claimed a status as a separate nation. They even started a newspaper in both English and Cherokee.

Why did The U.S. Want Native Americans to MOVE from Their Lands? The Native Americans (particularly in the Southeast) stood in the way of westward expansion. Also, the Native Americans lived on fertile land.

Each President had a different idea Each President had a different idea of how to deal with policies to move Native Americans. Thomas Jefferson Voluntary movement He believed moving west was the only way Native Americans could preserve their cultures. James Madison Treaties were signed with groups from the Old Northwest. The groups gave up their lands to move east of the Mississippi River. James Monroe He suggested a plan that would move any Native Americans living east of the Mississippi River to land west of the river. Nothing came of that plan.

Court Cases with Native American groups Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1831) Georgia passed a law to make the Cherokees to move from their lands because Georgia said that they were not their own nation. The court ruled in Georgia’s favor. Worcester v. Georgia (1832) The court declared that Georgia’s laws had no place in Cherokee territory. The US, as a nation, has made treaties with Cherokee’s, and that is the supreme law of the land. Not a state law.

Indian Removal Act of 1830 As a result, Andrew Jackson decided to put into effect a federal law called the Indian Removal Act of 1830. The law let him offer Native Americans land west of the Mississippi River in exchange for their lands East.

The Trail of Tears Believing they had no choice, most Native Americans signed new treaties giving up their lands. They agreed to move into “Indian Territory” (mostly in today’s Oklahoma). The Cherokees stayed on their land until 1837 when Jackson left office.

The Trail of Tears In 1838, under President Martin van Buren, the Cherokees were forced to move. In the winter of 1838-1839, they went to Indian Territory guarded by 7000 soldiers. The route is called the “Trail of Tears.”

The Trail of Tears The Cherokees were forced to march hundreds of miles. They had little food or shelter. Of the 15,000 Cherokees who began the trip, 4,000 died along the way.