The Unconstitutional Removal Of Indigenous Peoples

The Indian Removal Act of 1830, signed into law by President Andrew Jackson, authorized the removal of Native tribes from their homelands in the eastern United States to lands west of the Mississippi River. This act, supported by Jackson, the Democratic Party, southern and white settlers, and several state governments, led to the forced displacement of nearly 50,000 to 60,000 Native Americans from at least 18 tribes, with thousands dying during their journey. While some scholars argue that the removal saved the tribes from a worse fate, others view it as an early example of state-sanctioned ethnic cleansing, genocide, or settler colonialism. The constitutionality of the Indian Removal Act is a highly debated topic, with complex legal and moral implications.

Explore related products

Indian Removal: The Emigration of the Five Civilized Tribes of Indians (Volume 2) (The Civilization of the American Indian Series)

$7.38 $21.95

The Politics of Indian Removal: Creek Government and Society in Crisis

$20.59 $25

Indian Removal (Norton Documents Reader)

$23.45

Yuchi Indian Histories Before the Removal Era

$19.44 $30

Indian Removal (21st Century Skills Library: Racial Justice in America: Indigenous Peoples)

$14.21 $14.21

Pre-Removal Choctaw History (The Civilization of the American Indian Series) (Volume 255)

$21.95 $21.95

The Indian Removal Act of 1830

The Act established a process by which the President could grant land west of the Mississippi River to Indian tribes that agreed to give up their homelands. This was done to open up land east of the Mississippi to white settlers. The law allowed the Indians financial and material assistance to travel to their new locations and start new lives, and guaranteed that they would have protected sovereignty over their new property.

The Indian Removal Act was supported by President Jackson, the Democratic Party, southern and white settlers, and several state governments, especially Georgia. Indigenous tribes and the Whig Party opposed the bill, as did other groups within white American society, such as some Christian missionaries and clergy. Legal efforts to allow Indian tribes to remain on their land in the eastern U.S. failed. The Cherokee, for example, challenged their relocation but were unsuccessful in the courts. They were forcibly removed by the United States government in a march to the west that later became known as the Trail of Tears.

The Trail of Tears was the forced removal of Native Americans from their land in the 1830s, which resulted in a large number of deaths due to the hardships of the journey. Between three and four thousand out of the fifteen to sixteen thousand Cherokees died en route from the brutal conditions. Since the 21st century, scholars have cited the act and subsequent removals as an early example of state-sanctioned ethnic cleansing, genocide, or settler colonialism; some view it as a combination of these.

The Trail of Tears

The roots of forced relocation lay in greed. The British Proclamation of 1763 designated the region between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River as Indian Territory. During Jackson's presidency (1829-1837) and that of his successor Martin Van Buren (1837-1841), more than 60,000 Native Americans from at least 18 tribes were forced to move west of the Mississippi River. The southern tribes were mostly resettled in what is now Oklahoma, and the northern tribes were initially resettled in Kansas.

The Indian Removal Act was supported by President Jackson, the Democratic Party, southern and white settlers, and several state governments, especially Georgia. Indigenous tribes and the Whig Party opposed the bill, as did other groups within white American society, such as some Christian missionaries and clergy. Legal efforts to allow Indian tribes to remain on their land in the eastern US failed. The Cherokee (excluding the Treaty Party) challenged their relocation but were unsuccessful in the courts; they were forcibly removed by the US government in a march west that became known as the Trail of Tears.

The Treaty of New Echota, which became the legal basis for the Trail of Tears, was opposed by most of the Cherokee people. It was not approved by the Cherokee National Council and was not signed by Principal Chief John Ross. Despite this opposition, the Senate ratified the treaty in March 1836. Only a fraction of the Cherokees left voluntarily. The US government, with assistance from state militias, forced most of the remaining Cherokees west in 1838. The Cherokees were temporarily held in camps in eastern Tennessee.

Estimates based on tribal and military records suggest that approximately 100,000 Indigenous people were forced from their homes, and some 15,000 died during the journey west. A variety of scholars have classified the Trail of Tears as an example of the genocide of Native Americans; others categorize it as ethnic cleansing. In 1987, the US Congress designated the Trail of Tears as a National Historic Trail in memory of those who suffered and died during the removal.

The Cherokee Nation's resistance

The Indian Removal Act of 1830 was signed into law by President Andrew Jackson on May 28, 1830. The Act provided for the removal of Native Americans from their homelands and their relocation to lands west of the Mississippi River. Despite facing assaults on their sovereign rights and violence, the Cherokee Nation, led by Principal Chief John Ross, resisted the Indian Removal Act.

The Cherokee Nation took several steps to protect its national territory. In 1819, Ross, along with Charles Hicks and Major Ridge, formed the "Cherokee Triumvirate" and worked towards gaining recognition for the Cherokee Nation. In 1825, the Cherokee capital, New Echota, was established near present-day Calhoun, Georgia. The Cherokee National Council advised the United States that it would refuse future cession requests and enacted a law prohibiting the sale of national land, punishable by death. In 1827, the Cherokees adopted a written constitution, further antagonizing removal proponents in Georgia.

When the Indian Removal Act was passed, the Cherokee Nation resisted by challenging Georgia laws that restricted their freedoms on tribal lands in court. In Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1831), the Supreme Court ruled that the Cherokees were a "domestic dependent nation" under the protection of the United States, but President Jackson refused to enforce the decision. The Cherokee Nation then divided between those who wanted to continue resisting and those who wanted to surrender and move west.

The majority of the Cherokee Nation, led by Ross, continued their resistance. They filed a protest petition with the U.S. government, pleading to reject the Treaty of New Echota and work with the true officials of the Cherokee Nation. Ross negotiated with the federal government to try and strike a better bargain for the Cherokee people. However, under the threat of force from federal troops and the Georgia state militia, the Cherokee Nation was ultimately forced to leave their homeland and relocate across the Mississippi River. The relocation march later became known as the Trail of Tears, with an estimated three to four thousand out of fifteen to sixteen thousand Cherokees dying en route due to brutal conditions.

Explore related products

Forced Removal: Causes and Effects of the Trail of Tears (Cause and Effect: American Indian History)

$8.99 $8.99

The Indian Removal Act and the Trail of Tears (EXPANSION OF OUR NATION (Set of 8))

$9.95 $28.5

The Cherokee Removal: A Brief History with Documents (Bedford Series in History and Culture)

$26.58 $27.99

Why You Can't Teach United States History without American Indians

$32.8 $39.95

The Removal Of The Choctaw Indians

$24.95

The Forced Removal of American Indians from the Northeast: A History of Territorial Cessions and Relocations, 1620-1854

$31.96 $39.95

The US government's violation of treaties

The US government has a long history of violating treaties with Native Americans. The Indian Removal Act of 1830, signed into law by President Andrew Jackson, is a key example of this. The Act provided for the exchange of lands with Native American tribes and their removal west of the Mississippi River. During Jackson's presidency and that of his successor, Martin Van Buren, more than 60,000 Native Americans from at least 18 tribes were forced to leave their ancestral lands and relocate west of the Mississippi River. This event became known as the Trail of Tears, with an estimated 3000 to 4000 out of 15,000 to 16,000 Cherokees dying en route due to harsh conditions.

The US government used treaties as a means to displace Native Americans from their tribal lands, and in cases where this failed, they sometimes violated both treaties and Supreme Court rulings to facilitate the spread of European Americans westward. The government signed nearly seventy removal treaties, successfully relocating nearly 50,000 eastern Indians to Indian Territory. The Cherokee Nation challenged Georgia laws that restricted their freedoms on tribal lands, but ultimately lost and was forced to relocate.

The Indian Removal Act was supported by President Jackson, the Democratic Party, southern and white settlers, and several state governments. However, it was opposed by indigenous tribes, the Whig Party, and some Christian missionaries and clergy. Legal efforts to allow Indian tribes to remain on their land in the eastern US failed, and the government used coercion and the contravention of treaties and judicial determinations to achieve its goals.

Even before the Indian Removal Act, the US Supreme Court ruled in the 1823 case of Johnson v. McIntosh that Indians could occupy and control lands within the United States but could not hold title to those lands. This ruling set a precedent for the government's actions in the years to come.

In modern times, Native American activists have continued to fight for their rights and bring attention to the government's failure to uphold its treaty obligations. The Trail of Broken Treaties in 1972 was a product of grassroots organizing among Native American activists, advocating for Indian rights and the restoration of treaty-making processes. Despite these efforts, the US government has often failed to justify its actions or changed laws to serve its economic interests, as seen in the eradication of the Iroquois and Seminoles through the Trail of Tears.

The ethnic cleansing of Indigenous peoples

The removal of Indigenous peoples from their homelands has been a tragic and violent episode in the history of the United States. This process, driven by colonial expansion and racial superiority beliefs, resulted in the forced relocation and deaths of thousands of Native Americans. While the Indian Removal Act of 1830 is a key example, the ethnic cleansing of Indigenous peoples spans centuries and continues to shape their struggle for survival and cultural preservation.

The Indian Removal Act, signed into law by President Andrew Jackson, formalised a systematic approach to Indian removal. Jackson's interpretation of the Constitution, combined with his belief in the superiority of states over Indian tribes, set the stage for this act. The law provided for the exchange of Indian lands east of the Mississippi River for new lands to the west. However, this was not a voluntary exchange; it was enforced through treaties, military force, and legal mechanisms.

The Removal Act resulted in the displacement of nearly 50,000 eastern Indians, with more than 60,000 Native Americans from at least 18 tribes being forced to move. The southern tribes were resettled in what is now Oklahoma, while the northern tribes were initially relocated to Kansas. The journey was characterised by immense hardship, with an estimated 3,000 to 4,000 Cherokees dying on the "Trail of Tears".

Despite justifications for the Removal Act, including the belief that it saved Indigenous peoples from a worse fate at the hands of settlers, scholars now view it as an early example of state-sanctioned ethnic cleansing, genocide, or settler colonialism. The term "ethnic cleansing" refers to the forced removal of an ethnic population from an area or the rendering of an area ethnically homogeneous. This characterises the experience of Indigenous peoples, who were displaced to open up their lands for white settlers.

The debate around the destruction of Indigenous cultures, languages, and populations continues. While some scholars argue for the term genocide, others contend that ethnic cleansing more accurately describes the historical violence inflicted upon Indigenous peoples. This debate underscores the ongoing struggle for recognition and justice for the wrongs committed against Indigenous communities.

Frequently asked questions