Genocide And The Indian Removal Of American Indians

It is indisputable that the Native Americans were wronged by the European settlers. Adamant U.S government officials would threaten native tribes to leave their land so they could selfishly use the land for their own purposes. Andrew Jackson was the driving force in clearing away the Native Americans. He strongly despised American Indians as evidenced by his relentless promotion for their removal. Jackson eventually got his wish when Congress passed the Indian Removal Act which forced American Indians to relocate, thus allowing settlers to use the remarkably fertile Native American land for their own crops and agriculture. From the late 1700’s to the early 1800’s, American Indians had to travel from their homes some 800 miles to now day Oklahoma.
Historians who study the Native Americans describe their relationship with settlers as a cruel and, to an extent, racist because the Europeans clearly viewed the American Indians as an inferior race. Although this was a bitter conflict that ultimately led to the removal of American Indians, it is hardly fair to determine the event as a genocide. Ben Kiernan, the director of the Genocide Studies Program at Yale University, argues that genocide is the “only appropriate way” to describe how Natives were treated, but there is no indication extermination was the principle objective of the U.S government. Thorough research proves that the American Indians were much less victims of genocide but more so victims of an unlucky yet inevitable disaster. While there is no doubt the American Indians endured a devastating tragedy, there isn’t enough evidence to prove this suffering amounted to a full-blown