What Role Did The Federal Government Play In Westward Expansion

During the early 19th century, Americans poured into the backcountry of the south and began to move toward and into what is now Alabama and Mississippi, due to the Homestead Act. This act provided 160 acres of free land to any settler willing to live on it and improve it for five years. (Pg.440) However, during these times Indian tribes lived there and they appeared to be the main obstacle to the westward expansion. White American settlers petitioned to the federal government to remove the Native Americans. Presidents both Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe argued that Indian tribal lands in the Southeast should sell and/or exchange their land for lands west of the Mississippi River. The American Government did not take any steps to make this happen. In fact, the first transfer of land occurred only as an end result of war. The Americans wanted westward expansion to complete their Manifest Destiny and would stop at no costs to complete it.
However, in cases where this failed, the U.S Government sometimes would violate both the treaties and the Supreme Court rulings to help with the spread of Americans move across the continent. Major General Andrew Jackson led an expedition against the Creek Indians in 1814. This expedition led to the Battle of Horse Shoe Bend, where General Jackson’s forces defeated the Creeks and destroyed all of their military power. Andrew Jackson then forced all of the Indians into a treaty where they would surrender over twenty million acres of their traditional land to the United States Government. Jackson then led the Indian removal campaign throughout the following decade. He was able to complete nine of the eleven major treaties in order to remove the Indians from their