Indian Removal Act Analysis

Imagine being woken up in the middle of the night and being taken out of one’s house by soldiers and moved from their homelands to a foreign land in the west. That is what happened to the Indians during the Indian removals. The Indian Removal Act gave the government enough power to seize the Indian’s land and move them west. The removals were meant to be peaceful and fair. They were also supposed to be done voluntarily (“Trail”). Andrew Jackson passed the Indian Removal Act on May 28, 1830. The Indian Removal Act affected many American Indian Tribes. After Andrew Jackson became president the Indian Removal Act was passed. The act was passed so the Americans could get the Indians off of their ancestor’s lands. Then they moved them
They could not figure out how the United States could take their lands. They did not know how the soldiers were surprised when they refused removal (Brill 7). There were many causes for the Indian Removal Act. One of these causes were, that the Indians had a thirst for land. They wanted the Indian’s lands so they forced them to be removed (Kidwell). Some Indians were peaceful. Not even these Indians were accepted by the Americans (“Indian” 2014). The southerners were big supporters of the act. So they made arguments to try and pass the act. One of the arguments was that in the west the Indians would have more resources and a better way of living. The southerners did not seem to care that the lands in the west were already occupied (Hood, Kelleher, and Larkin). Some of the Indians were bribed from their lands. Other were threatened to be removed (Brill 38). To get the Indians to leave, the Americans made cruel laws. They wanted the Indians to become so miserable they would leave (Aaseng 7). One of these laws was that the Indians were not aloud to dig for the gold discovered on their lands (Aaseng 7-8). The Indian Removal Act made the Indians
The law affected many Indian’s lives greatly. The Indian Removal Act was passed so the Americans could get more land. The Indians were moved from their lands to Indian Territory in the west. The act was passed for a lot of different reasons. Many tribes resisted the act. The Indians went to court to try and stop the removal of the Indians. The trials went all the way to supreme court. The removal of the Indians was harsh. They were kicked, beat, and left behind to die. The Americans affected the Indians in many ways. Many supported the Indian Removal Act. Some even fought for the law to be passed. The Indians were affected greatly by the Indian Removal