Indian Removal Act

1. Indian Removal Act The act allowed Jefferson to trade land with the Natives. Based on the current living conditions of Natives and Americans, we believe that the act itself was justified, but Jefferson’s actions were not. He went against the constitution and forced the Natives out instead of negotiating.

2. 1814 Major General Andrew Jackson attacked the Indians in the Battle of Horse Shoe Bend (in present day Alabama near the Georgia border), where they defeated them. He then forced the Indians to sign a treaty that said that they gave the United States over twenty-million acres of their land—about one-half of present day Alabama and one-fifth of Georgia 1791 This treaty puts down more boundaries on Cherokee land and hunting grounds. It also said that anyone living outside their border is able to walk in their territory and is allowed to use the Tennessee River. 1802 The Federal government agrees to remove the Cherokees. In return, Georgia will give up their claims on the western lands. Late 1780’s U.S. officials tell Cherokees to their traditional ways of life and to learn how to live like them. Many Cherokees start this new way of life. 1800 Americans started moving west toward and into what would later become Alabama and Mississippi .The Indians there were an obstacle to them November 28, 1785 Georgia officials make the Hopewell treatise with the Cherokees. The treaty established certain places for hunting, and their land. 1803 Jefferson told the natives that they could live by themselves and without Americans if they accepted their culture although most Cherokees didn’t like Jefferson's entreaties, small groups moved west to the Arkansas River area in 1810 and 1817-19.

3. Living Conditions of Natives About 22% of our country’s 5.2 million Native Americans live on tribal lands. Employment: Typically, Tribal and Federal governments are the largest employers on the reservations. The scarcity of jobs and lack of economic opportunity mean that, depending on the reservation, four to eight out of ten adults on reservations are unemployed. Housing: There is a housing crisis in Indian country. One legislator deplored the fact that “there are 90,000 homeless or under housed Indian families, and that 30% of Indian housing is overcrowded and less than 50% of it is connected to a public sewer.” Health: About 55% of American Indians rely on the Indian Health Service for medical care. Pharmacies and doctor's offices outside of hospitals are completely non-existent in some communities, of the reservations. Health Statistics: •Heart disease is the leading cause of death for American Indians (2003, Center for Disease Control). •Due to the link between heart disease, diabetes, poverty, and quality of nutrition and health care, 36% of Natives with heart disease will die before age 65 compared to 15% of Caucasians (2001, HHS Office of Minority Health). •American Indians are 177% more likely to die from diabetes (2011, Indian Health Disparities). •500% are more likely to die from tuberculosis (2011, Indian Health Disparities). •82% are more likely to die from suicide (2011, Indian Health Disparities). •Cancer rates and disparities related to cancer treatment are higher than for other Americans (2005, Native People for Cancer Control). •Infant death rates are 60% higher than for Caucasians (2001, HHS Office of Minority Health).

4. Living Conditions of Americans

5. What Happened at the Time of the Act • in December of 1830, Jackson sent out a letter to congress to relocate native americans • many were anxious to rid of the Indians because of gold findings • Jackson said that the removal would “incalculably strengthen the southwestern frontier” • Many people saw the indian tribes as separate nations, but Jackson saw them as otherwise • People tried to bring the Indians into the “white culture”, but were reluctant • industrialization began to move west, thus people wanted natives out of the way • would affect many of the southern tribes • many people were anxious for changes in the Indians so whites could own the land • Jackson believed that the quicker Indians moved, the better things would be • Indians reluctantly agreed to moving westward • the Choctaw and the Chickasaw agreed to move west of the Mississippi • Jackson thought the Indians were crazy for preferring a life out in the wilderness rather than joining their country. • In 1829, Jackson tried to make the removal a US policy • The Cherokees saw themselves as their own nation, and hoped the US would recognize this because they signed treaties with them and other tribes, just as they signed treaties with Britain and France • Jackson questioned the Indians ability to became a nation within a nation • Jackson also tried to avoid a huge problem with the natives and settlers. • Southern tribes refused to leave, so they were forced by the army. • Indian lands were “held hostage” by the federal government

6. Citations Digital History. "Digital History." Digital History. N.p., 2012. Web. 20 Oct. 2013 President Jackson's Message to Congress "On Indian Removal", December 6, 1830; Records of the United States Senate, 1789-1990; Record Group 46; Records of the United States Senate, 1789-1990; National Archives Rector, Robert. Facts about Povery in America. 7 February 2012.