INDIAN REMOVAL IN THE UNITED STATES

Americans wanted to move west into Native American land

Native Americans and American settlers fought

The Proclamation of 1763 tried to stop American settlers from moving into Native American land

This proclamation said that settlers could not move west of the Appalachian mountains

By the time Andrew Jackson became President in 1829, the native population east of the Mississippi River was only 125,000 people

However, there were 13 million settlers living on the land.

Jackson wanted the Native Americans to leave their land East of the Mississippi.

He wanted to help American farmers and businessmen

Jackson said to the Native Americans:

they lived too near the white American settlers and they would fight each other

The Native Americans should move west where there are more animals to hunt

The Cherokee, Creeks,

Choctaws, Chickasaws, and

Seminoles wanted to stay in their lands east of

the Mississippi River.

How did they try to avoid removal?

1. Started farming instead of hunting

2. Started going to schools

3. Had own written language

This is called “assimilation”

How have you tried to assimilate to school in the United States?

How did Georgia begin the removal process of the Cherokee and the other

members of the Five Civilized tribes within its border?

Throughout the late 1820s, legal conflict over ownership of Cherokee lands led the issue to the halls of the U.S. Supreme Court.

How do you think the Supreme Court

decided?

Why?

The Supreme Court and Chief Justice John Marshall said that the Cherokee could keep their lands because of earlier federal treaties.

What do you think President Jackson did

next?

He ignored the court’s decision and let Georgia take the Indian land. He also let Georgia force the Indians off of the land.

In 1838, the Georgia soldiers were ordered to force the Cherokee out of Georgia.

17,000 Cherokees were forced off their land and made to walk thousands of miles to new land.

As many as 4,000 died along the “Trail of Tears”.

“I fought through the Civil War and have seen men shot to pieces and slaughtered by the thousands, but the Cherokee removal was the cruelest work I ever knew.”

Georgia Soldier involved in removal process