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The Indian Removal Act. Jackson’s Decisions. December 6, 1830 President Andrew Jackson called for the relocation of eastern Native American tribes to land west of the Mississippi River, in order to open new land for settlement by citizens of the United States
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Jackson’s Decisions • December 6, 1830 President Andrew Jackson called for the relocation of eastern Native American tribes to land west of the Mississippi River, in order to open new land for settlement by citizens of the United States • In 1814-1824 he made treaties with 9 out of the 11 tribes in America • In 1827 the Jackson administration told native American tribes that they had 2 years to voluntary move out of there houses onto new land • In 1831 Jackson forcibly moved 46,000 Native Americans
Cherokee • The US government sent 7,000 troops to force the Cherokees of the land even after they had adapted their lifestyle • 20,000 Cherokees were marched westward at gunpoint on the infamous Trail of Tears • ¼ died on the way and the rest struggled to survive • The first groups walked over the 800 miles to what became eastern Oklahoma • video of trail of tears walk through http://www.pbs.org/indiancountry/history/interactive_map.html • The average trip took six months • Many other tribes were forced later on their own Trail of Tears, but the Cherokee was one of the worst • eventually they got pushed into an Indian reservation
Cherokees continued • Act passed in 1830 and forced native Americans west of the Mississippi River • The removal of the tribe was supposed to be peaceful but after the tribe resisted Jackson showed force http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/trail-of-tears.htm
Current living conditions Americans Native Americans • 15.1 percent of Americans live in poverty • 14.5 percent of U.S. struggle to put food on the table • Some native Americans today are doctors, lawyers, teachers, and other professions • Largest amount of native Americans live in rural places in Oklahoma and Louisiana • 80 percent are unemployed • 50.9 percent are below the federal poverty line
Based on the current living conditions of Americans and natives was the removal act justified ? Throughout all the research we did we think that the Indian Removal Act was not justified. Even though we probably wouldn't be here today without it. We could have gone about it a different way. We discovered that after congress passed the act it could be considered unconstitutional. It practically took the tribes rights away by taking the land they rightfully owned. Also they still got pushed out even after they adapted to the American lifestyle and became civilized people. Some native Americans have good lifestyles but still many live in poverty and don’t get the opportunities they deserve. Most white Americans have good lifestyles but very few struggle. After all the sites and sources we looked at we concluded our research by discovering that the Indian Removal Act was not justified.
Bibliography Huff Post. (2013, October 18). Huffington Post. Retrieved October 18, 2013, from Huff Post Business : http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/13/us-poverty-rate-2011_n_959936.html Sabo III, George2001 Paths of Our Children: Historic Indians of Arkansas. Fayetteville, Arkansas Archeological Survey Popular Series No. 3. Trail of Tears. (2006, September). Retrieved from Indian Country Diaries: http://www.pbs.org/indiancountry/history/trail.html Darren Kamp, A. (n.d.). The Indian Removal Act and the Trail of Tears: Cause, Effect and Justification. Retrieved October 16, 2013, from History Matters: http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/7402 TCI. (2011). history alive Americas past. Madison: TCI. ushistory.org. (2013). The Trail of Tears — The Indian Removals. Retrieved October 17, 2013, from U.S. History Online Textbook: http://www.ushistory.org/us/24f.asp • http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/trail-of-tears.htm