Jacksonian Era: The Removal Policy

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Andrew Jackson, who was the 7th President of the United States, signed the Indian Removal Act in May 28th, 1832 and this policy granted Andrew Jackson the right to forcibly move the Native Americans to land west of the Mississippi. Even though “it is presumed that any explanation of Jackson’s purposes is an attempt to justify the mass killing of innocent people…” (Remini, 45) some would say his childhood affected him; seeing and hearing Indians Attacking places near his home. Or how he was the second President to make it into the business without an education. Some people thought that with gold being found in Georgia, this led many new white settlers looking to buy land from the Cherokee Indians. Although a lot could be said about Andrew Jackson’s Removal Policy one thing is for certain, the way the Policy was carried out was a horror. If you could just imagine this with your heart and soul how the policy was carried out, then you could see how terribly the Indians were treated. All because they occupied the land they were given in a treaty. The policy affected many people, some in good ways; some in bad. Obviously the only people this policy affected in a good way were the white settlers looking to buy the Indians land. The Chickasaw Indians were the only Tribe to not have land in the New Territory even though they were promised it. They sold their land for $500,000 to the United States Government, and when they showed up and had no land they decided to lease land from Choctaws. The purchase of the land from the other tribe created a trust fund that gave the Chickasaw Indians up to $75,000 a year, and then enabled them to have a cash economy and not rely on the natural environment (Kidwell). The unfortunate situation in this enti...

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...med, TeacherServe, National Humanities Center. National Humanity Center. 19 Feb. 2014 .
Langguth, A. J. Driven West: Andrew Jackson and the Trail of Tears to the Civil War. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2010. 106+.
Potter, Woodburne. The war in Florida. Ann Arbor: University Microfilms, 1966. 14+.
Satz, Ronald N., Robert Vincent Remini, and Anthony F.C. Wallace. "Primary Documents in American History." Indian Removal Act: Primary Documents of American History (Virtual Programs & Services, Library of Congress). The Library of Congress. 18 Feb. 2014 .
Smith, William. Expedition against the Ohio Indians. Ann Arbor: University Microfilms, 1966. Iii+.
Spencer, Oliver M. Indian captivity. Ann Arbor: University Microfilms, 1966. 58+.

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