Indian Removal Act Research Paper

On May 1830, President Andrew Jackson (1829–1837) signed the Indian Removal Act, which would take tribes of eastern Indians, living in settled states, and resettle them in specially designated districts west of the Mississippi River in Indian Territory (now the state of Oklahoma). Many tribes were affected by the Indian Removal Act. Most notably, the Cherokees, Choctaws, Creeks, Chickasaws, and Seminoles tribes were subjected to eviction (O’Neill 11). By the large, these tribes were known as the "Five Civilized Tribes" (weiser). The tribes had their own customs, traditions, government, and territories. Until When the Indian Removal Act was implemented, however, they found themselves equally casted out. Though the terms of their departures diverse, the Five
Many had intermarried with Europeans and lived settled lives in farming communities. The Cherokee had written their own constitution, based on the United States Constitution, they had started a newspaper, and had built roads, schools, and churches. As immigrants poured into the United States, however, land became scarce. The Indians had land; the settlers wanted it. Suddenly, it was not enough that some of the native tribes had become very much like the white Americans. At first, the Cherokee in Georgia tried to fight the Indian Removal Act by taking the government to court. In 1832, the Supreme Court ruled against Georgia. (Smith 134) even with the Court’s ruling, the Indian removal act continued. President Jackson ignored the Supreme Court’s verdict, handed down by Chief Justice John Marshall. The President was reported to have said, “John Marshall has made his decision. Now let him enforce it!” (O’Neill 11). By the end of the decade, tens of thousands of Indians had been moved west. Thousands died on the long, difficult march, which became known as the Trail of