Indian Removal Dbq

Imagine abruptly being forced out of your home. Imagine walking barefoot for miles and seeing people close to you collapse left and right. This is how every Native American on the Trail of Tears lived because of the Indian Removal Act. This act, signed by President Andrew Jackson on May 28 of 1830, granted him the right to grant unsettled lands in exchange for Indian lands. These lands were inhabited by the Five Civilized Tribes - the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole. Due to the Indian Removal Act, these five tribes were forced off their land and sent 1500 miles west to present day Oklahoma. Thousands died of countless illnesses, their sufferings earning the migration its name - the Trail of Tears. The Indian Removal Act

was a step in the wrong direction for America because it mercilessly killed thousands of Native Americans, dehumanized the 5 Civilized Tribes, and wasn’t even properly followed through.
The act in question first showed its bad footing when it led to the merciless death of thousands of innocent Native Americans. There may be those who say that the countless deaths weren’t America’s fault. However, that is where they are wrong. “...sleep in the wagons and on the ground without fire… twenty-two of them to die in one night of pneumonia due to ill treatment, cold, and exposure”(John G. Burnett’s Story of the Removal of the Cherokees) is not the weather’s fault. Ill treatment, exposure to the cold, and no warmth can easily be fixed by some medicine, a blanket, and a campfire. But did those leading the Trail of Tears do anything to accommodate their victims? Far from it. If anything, they practically left these poor, helpless people to die. This was our fault, and no one else’s. These people encountered “...a terrific sleet and snow storm with freezing temperatures… trail of exile was a trail of death.”(John G. Burnett’s Story of the Removal of the Cherokees) America didn’t do anything to help them then, either. The sad part is that they went through this themselves at Valley Forge, but still did nothing. There were those in the army that died of famine, pneumonia - many of the same reasons as the Native Americans. The two are not so different. But they still did nothing to help those in need, despite America once being the one in need. America’s Indian Removal Act, however, has not only led to countless innocent deaths of Native Americans, but also to the dehumanization of the 5 tribes that walked the Trail of Tears.
This act walked further down the wrong path when it dehumanized the Native Americans and robbed them of their dignity. While some may say that “... they would be hailed with gratitude and joy”(Andrew Jackson’s Second Annual Message), the Native Americans were certainly not. “Ever since [the whites came] we have been made to drink of the bitter cup of humiliation; treated like dogs… our country and the graves of our fathers torn from us… we find ourselves fugitives, vagrants and strangers in our own country…”(John Ross). This sounds more like they were hailed with humiliation and mistreatment. Who would find joy in being treated like an animal? Who would be gratuitous for becoming strangers to your own home? These 5 tribes certainly weren’t. It seems only logical to treat others the way you would like to be treated. Imagine how the United States would react if they were treated like dogs and separated from their culture? They wouldn’t like it very much - no one would. So why does it seem okay to do it to people that have never done anything to hurt you? Still, there are those who believe that the government made it their moral duty to protect and preserve the Native American race. On the other hand, John G. Burnett tells us in his account, “... I did not meet one [Indian girl] who was a moral prostitute. They are kind and tenderhearted and many of them are beautiful.” These girls didn’t deserve the treatment they received. None of them were girls looking to be harassed or raped by white men, which they were. The government says it’s their duty to protect these people? While they allow them to be raped by their own “trained” soldiers? Some protection. By doing this, America is robbing these people of their dignity, their pride, and their confidence. They are wearing them down until they are not even human anymore, but simply toys for them to play with. Once again, the Indian Removal Act brought sadness to innocent people by robbing them of their human qualities. But it also could have prevented one of the saddest events in American history.
To end the Indian Removal Act’s cursed journey, the act wasn’t even followed through properly.

Many people may believe that the Indian Removal Act was voluntary and peaceful; that those who didn’t want to leave the land didn’t have to. President Jackson’s disregard of agreement says otherwise: “The removal was supposed to be voluntary and peaceful, and it was that way for the tribes that agreed to the conditions. But the southeastern nations resisted, and Jackson forced them to leave.” (PBS.org) This doesn’t sound like migration was voluntary and peaceful. This could have changed everything. If everything went according to the conditions, 4,000 Native Americans wouldn’t have died. If Jackson hadn’t gone against the tribes’ agreed wishes, people wouldn’t have protested America’s actions. If those who didn’t want to leave weren’t met with military force, none of these tragedies would have ever happened. All of this could have also been prevented if this were true: “... to give him[the average Native American] a new and extensive territory, to pay the expense of his removal, and support him a year in his new abode?”(Andrew Jackson’s Second Annual Message) All of these were conditions agreed to in the Indian Removal Act. Did the 5 Civilized Tribes ever see these conditions? No, they did not. This disregard of documents is hypocritical of America. They complained about their treaties with other countries not being paid attention to, but disregarded another document that held thousands of people’s futures in the balance. How do you think America would feel if other nations disregarded the Constitution? They would be upset, just like the Native Americans were, and the tribes were right. The tribes were supposed to have a happy ending, but the disregard of what seemed like another piece of paper to America ended any chance of that for them. That is why the Indian Removal Act was bad for America - it led us to not follow the

rules.
So you see, the Indian Removal Act was quite bad for America due its committed crimes. It committed murder - the death of 4,000 Native Americans that never did anything to it. It committed a robbery when it robbed these people of the qualities that make them human. And it committed the crime of ignorance when it led the president to disregard its own conditions in writing. Martin van Buren had a choice to stop it. We have a choice to stand up and stop what we think is wrong to make something right. So what are you waiting for?