The Seminole War: The Trail Of Tears

During the era of colonization, Native Americans and the new settlers began to clash over the land ownership. The Indian’s were against these new settlers who forced their way on their land due to the overpopulation on American settlements. The settlers wanted the Indians to move west and give their land to the American people. As the American government forced the Indians out of their lands and toward the West, the aggressive removal became known as the Trail of Tears. This tragic event became even more notarized when President Andrew Jackson came into office. Though the Indian tribes were reluctant to give up their land to the government, this was a battle they simply could not win. An arduous fight for land resulted in thousands

of deaths.
President Thomas Jefferson had viewpoints on the Indian Removal before these harsh events took place. Jefferson wanted to drive the Indians away from their homelands. Americans viewed this as the only way for Native Americans to survive. The Americans could not fathom the thought of allowing the Indians keep their territory instead of forcing them to survive on dry land and a terrible environment, which they would have tremendous trouble surviving on.
The Indians were forced to move west due to the Proclamation of 1763, which placed the white colonist on the east side of the Appalachian Mountains.

Americans were growing quickly and attempted to violate the agreement with the Indians by expanding west, which was issued Indian land. Tempers began to flair as the Indians refused to continue to let the European Americans disrespect their territory, but the Europeans were determined in their quest to seek more land for expansion. The Seminole War, which was fought between 1817 through 1819, was a major battle forged as a result of this forceful expansion. The Native Americans put up a good fight against Andrew Jackson’s army, but in the end Jackson’s army proved to be too strong and overtook the lands of the Indians in Florida. The Indian tribes were forced to live on reserved lands which was not at all suited for their agricultural needs. Due to the constant tension between the two, a seconds Seminole War came about in the late 1830’s. The outcome was Osceola, the leader of the Indian tribes, being captured and murdered. The unwillingness of the Indians to be respected led to the third Seminole battle in the

1850’s.
When Andrew Jackson became president, the tension immediately became worse. This was because Jackson and the government came up with tactics to trick the Indians out of the land. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 allowed Jackson to swindle the Indians out of their land with a deal that only favored the Americans. The first chief that fell victim to the unfair tactics of the United States was Black Hawk and his tribe. They agreed to move west but later found out that the new land was unbearable and not suited for the production of agriculture. When Black Hawk and his tribe attempted to return to their original territory, they were stopped and denied entry to a place that rightfully belonged to them. Outraged, Black Hawk later declared war and the Black Hawk War erupted in full effect. Unfortunately, Black Hawk’s people were exterminated in mass amounts and those who survived were later captures and killed. In the end, Black Hawk was also captured and forced to sign over rights to his land indefinitely. The government controlled the lands and proved their strength as the army cleared out the tribe with ease just to pursue new land. A tribe known as the Creek Indians was forced to sign away their land due to the internal battles and could no longer deal with the pressure and stress of the United States government.
The Cherokee proved to be the strongest tribe as they stood their ground the longest in hopes to maintain their land.

Because of the unfair treatment by the American government, many of the Native Americans began the long torturous journey known as the Trail of Tears. However, the Cherokee formed a government to compete for their land but was faced with difficulty after gold was found on their land. This only intensified the hunt for the Indian tribe’s land. The Cherokees attempted to outsmart the United States by creating a law that stated if one buys their land, they are susceptible to punishment. This law was later considered null and void in 1828. The Cherokee Tribe would soon go against Georgia in a Supreme Court case in 1831 that, in the end, caused them to give up their land and forced a move to the West. Jackson introduced the Treaty of New Echota in 1835. The chief of the Cherokee Tribe, John Ross, attempted to fight this treaty but failed and was ordered by the United States government to vanish and pursue shelter in the West. This shift in the Cherokees surroundings led to the deaths of thousands of Indians due to starvation and the inability to adapt to the severe dry land of the West. Many others had to face the cruel punishment of imprisonment. Once finally settled in their western territories, the government went on to pass two other treaties against the Indians in the years 1854 and 1866, which further decreased the size of their already scant land. The

government continued to treat the native Americans unfairly for years to come.
The terrible actions of President Jackson and the United States were proven to be a violation of the guarantees of the congressional legislation. He made the Indians believe that he was only trying to protect them when in reality his sight was set on their land. Jackson’s extreme actions were an abuse of presidential power, which was frequently overlooked. The laws that Jackson passed did not authorize him to use the force he inflicted. One main law passed that impacted the Native American population the most was the Indian Removal Act, which was not seen as a voluntary relocation program. Numerous witnesses have proof of corruption, dishonesty, and abuse of power as the deals that were created for Indians were seen as fraudulent. If Indians did not comply with the rules that were set before them, they would often be forced to comply or be killed.
To conclude, Indians were wrongfully mistreated and often left with no choice but to surrender their homes and land only live in sorrow for the rest of their lives. Jackson’s and the government’s wrongful actions dismantled Indian tribes and struck fear in their hearts. This was all to force the Indians to sign over property or face the consequences which could result in death. When someone stood up and fought for their rights, they were denied fair treatment in court and left with no option but to pursue life in the West, even if that meant losing thousands of familial assets in the process.