What Was The Unjust Removal Of Native Americans

The Unjust Removal of Native Americans

The Indian Removal Act was an unjust act that took away the rights of innocent natives. The Act was signed into law on May 28, 1830 by President Andrew Jackson. It authorized the president to give unsettled lands west of the Mississippi River in exchange for Native american lands inside the existing state borders at the time. Some tribes left peacefully, while most resisted. The tribes that resisted wound up leaving by force, even when deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. These actions took away the rights of Native Americans, the Indian Removal Act was neither ethical nor justified.

The Indian Removal Act was not intended to allow Jackson to forcefully remove Indians from their land. It was

intended to allow the negotiation of Native American lands for new lands in the Indiana Territory. The Choctaw Indians were were the first nation to be expelled from their land in 1831, a year after Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act. They were forced make their way to the Indian Territory without any food, supplies, or assistance from the government.The Choctaw Indians weren’t the only nation who suffered this expulsion.
The Cherokee Indians challenged the Georgia laws that restricted their freedoms on tribal lands in court. Although the court ruled in the Cherokee’s favor, Jackson refused to acknowledge the court’s decision. The Cherokee Nation were forced to march to an area in present-day Oklahoma from their homelands. The devastating journey they took would be known as the “Trail of Tears”. On the trail; approximately 4,000 Native Americans died of cold, hunger, or disease. Jackson, however, was not the only one who wanted Native American lands.
The white settlers who built civilization around these lands also wanted Native Americans gone. These settlers often feared and resented Native Americans. They wanted the American Indians land and felt they deserved it. It was proposed that to solve this “Indian problem” was to ‘civilize” the Indian Nations. Many people from nations such as the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Seminole, Creek, and Cherokee embraced these traditions. They became known as the “Five Civilized Tribes”, and were still forced to leave their land.
The Indian Removal Act took away the rights of innocent people without a valid reason. Jackson forcefully removed Native Americans from their land, completely ignoring the amount of power he was given. His refusal to acknowledge the law led to the downfall of many Native American tribes. However, Jackson was not the only one who wanted to take Indian lands. The Indian Removal Act was neither ethical nor just.