Indian Removal Act Of 1830 Dbq Essay

President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act of 1830 to relocate Indian Tribes to the west of the Mississippi in exchange for their ancestral homeland. Five of the Indian tribes affected were the Creek, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Seminole, and Cherokee. As these Indian tribes lived in the South, Jackson seemed moving them under federal land west of the Mississippi was the best way to expand their country and to preserve the Native American way of life. Many American individuals latched onto this idea because it protected what the Founding Fathers established in the Constitution. The fundamental document that outlines what is right for the American people. With population growth increasing and industrial revolution looming around the corner,

In 1837, Boudinot wrote a letter to Chief leader of the Cherokee John Ross. Boudinot rejected Ross’s idea of staying in Georgia land by stating, “Instead of fix the evil, you would tie our people down in the chains of slavery” (Doc B). Boudinot believed living in the Indian territory would better the lives than what they experience then. Separation from the growing population would allow the tribes to create their own government and pursue happiness. It was also noted in Jackson’s speech, “To save him from utter annihilation, the Government kindly offers him a new home, and proposes to pay the whole expense of his removal and settlement” (Doc A). However, resentment from the Cherokee generated the so called Trail of Tears.

Nonetheless, the Indian Removal Act led to the devastating event called the Trail of Tears. Despite Jackson’s order to move all Native Tribes to the new Indian territory, the Cherokee remained intact for two more years. After refusal to obey the order, president Martin Van Buren ordered federal troops to carry out the removal. Later, the Cherokees embarked on a grueling 1,200-mile journey named the Trail of Tears. This event invoked suffering