Among the most shameful acts of American policy was forcing the Native American Indians on a “Trail of Tears.” From 1831 to 1850, under President Andrew Jackson’s Indian Removal Act, more than forty tribes were forced on a Trail of Tears, most notably the five civilized tribes of the Cherokee, Creek, Seminole, Choctaw, and Chickasaw. The tribes, with small amounts of support from missionaries and the judicial branch, attempted to thwart Jackson’s plans for removal. However, Jackson, with the majority support of Southern citizens and both state and federal government was able to maneuver around his oppositions and wield and expand his power, in order to ultimately achieve his goal of Indian removal. Jackson and his allies were able to execute the removal of Indian tribes by making all support of the Indians futile, and by winning both legal and physical battles against the Indians.
Conflict with the Indians had already been prevalent for years. As Americans looked for new land to grow their various crops, Indians came to be seen as an obstacle. While many solutions were offered, the consensus among the Southern states and the Jackson administration was to remove the Indians from their lands in the south and to resettle them in lands west of the Mississippi River. At the beginning of the 1830s, around 125,000 Indians lived on millions of acres of land in states such as Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida. By 1837, nearly 50,000 Indians had been removed, and by the 1850’s, little to no Indians remained in Southeast America. Squabbles over the land ensued for years leading up to the 1830’s with treaties being signed and wars taking place. State governments in the South also attempted to remove Indians from their land. Multiple states even passed laws confining the sovereignty and rights of the Indians. By 1830, with Georgia leading the way, several southern states threatened to extend their respective state laws onto the residing Indians. This ultimately led to the Cherokee’s legal battles with Georgia and also pressured Jackson to sign the Indian Removal Act at the beginning of his presidency.
In 1830, Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act; its main purpose was to allow the federal government to exchange Indian lands for other lands West of the Mississippi. The federal government, however, was already able to make treaties with the Indians. Effectively the Act’s only purposes were to appropriate money to the cause of Indian removal and to make removal appear peaceful, voluntary, and in good faith. Although the Act still outlined the rules and guidelines to be followed in executing removal. It stated, among other things, that the federal government must forever secure and guarantee the Indians their new lands, and that removal must occur through fair treaties and all removals must be peaceful and voluntary. Additionally, it stated that the government must supply Indians with the necessary aid in moving, and the President must protect the tribes in their new residence. None of these clauses were actually put into practice.
The Choctaws would end up being the first Indian tribe to be removed altogether. Seeing that any efforts to resist would be futile and under threat of invasion, they elected to sign a treaty agreeing to vacate in 1830. The American representatives made sure no missionaries were present for the negotiations, fearing their interference could potentially jeopardize the unfair treaty. After bribing the Choctaw leaders, the treaty was signed but neglected to detail logistics of the relocation. The treaty did not explain how the Indians would obtain their food and water supply, or how they would be transported. The treaty then passed through the Senate seemingly without any concern for the tactics the American negotiators used. Few Choctaws decided to stay, but those who did – legally under the terms of the treaty and the Indian Removal Act – were harassed and cheated out of their remaining land.
Christian missionaries were among the largest oppositions to Jackson among American citizens, however, their efforts, too, would be futile. Missionaries often built churches and schools for Indians within their territories. Their main goal was to convert the Indians to Christianity and to help them to become more “civilized”. Missionaries believed that many Indian tribes had made incredible strides towards a civilized life and if they were simply left alone, unmolested by harassers and by the government then they could complete this process. This progress was well proven as the Choctaws, Chickasaws, Cherokees, Seminoles, and Creeks were labeled as “The five civilized tribes”. When Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act, missionaries were vocal oppositions; they considered the Act a “repudiation” of years of previous treaties. Missionaries advised the Indians on political and legal matters. Therefore, in the aforementioned treaty with the Choctaws, missionaries were excluded from the negotiation to prevent their interference. Shortly after the Choctaws’ removal, Jackson cut off funding for missionary schools in Indian territory, further vanquishing the missionaries’ support.
Similar to the Choctaws, the Chickasaws were also cooperative following the Indian Removal Act and would face a similar fate. The Chickasaws signed a removal treaty in 1832 that stated that the federal government was required to provide them with suitable Western land and with protection from the settlers while they prepared to leave. Again, there were little to no logistical plans outlined in the treaty. Additionally, the treaty specified that the Chickasaws would be paying for their own removal. The promised protection was not given, and the Chickasaws were forced to flee and live with the remaining Choctaws who were then forced out by the settlers. About 3,500 Indians of each tribe died along the way.
The Cherokees, however, decided, rather than submitting to Jackson, to fight him by legal means. Attempting to prevent their own removal before the Indian Removal Act had even been signed, the Cherokees declared themselves a sovereign nation. This was mainly in response to the governor of Georgia's threat to extend state laws over the Indian tribes. The Cherokees’ claim to sovereignty was legitimate because in previous treaties, Indian nations were declared sovereign by America in order for the Indians to be able to legally cede their land. The state of Georgia did not recognize the Cherokees’ sovereignty and thought of the Cherokees as tenants within Georgia. Initially, the Supreme Court would not hear the Cherokees’ appeal as they were not American citizens.
Meanwhile, Samuel Worcester, an American missionary, befriended certain Cherokee leaders and assisted them with their legal rights under the American law. Among others’, Worcester’s influence and assistance led to the state of Georgia enacting a law prohibiting whites from staying in Cherokee property without being given specific authorization from the state. This move was very clearly intended to prevent the missionaries from inciting Indians into disobeying state laws and to cut the Cherokee’s off from their supporters. Worcester and a few other missionaries then purposefully broke the law intending to be charged. Then, as Americans, they appealed the ruling to the Supreme Court. After hearing the case of Worcester vs. Georgia, the Supreme Court ruled that the Cherokee tribe had a right to self government and that Georgia’s extension of state law was unconstitutional. Jackson responded by challenging the Supreme Court to enforce their ruling, even though execution of rulings was his own job. Judicial review was still emerging and did not affect the plans of Jackson or the Georgia state government. The governor of Georgia went even further as to vow to never allow judges to intervene in cases involving Indians within state borders.
Following the ineffective ruling, in 1835, a minority faction of the Cherokees signed the Treaty of New Echota with the American government agreeing to trade all Cherokee land for 5 million dollars, relocation assistance, and compensation for lost property. Congress approved this treaty despite the Cherokees’ objections and 16,000 signatures petitioning to stop the approval of the treaty. Only a few Cherokees actually adhered to the fake treaty and ceded their land. As a result, two years later, Jackson’s successor President Martin Van Buren ordered the army to take the Cherokees at bayonet point and march them West of the Mississippi River. The removal of the Cherokee’s under The Treaty of New Enocha is the most infamous series of events of the Trail of Tears and led to the deaths of about 4,000 Cherokees.
This would not be the only example of forced removal as Jackson forcefully removed the majority of both Seminoles and Creeks from their lands. During Jackson’s days as a commander, he defeated the Creeks in 1814 and took 22 million acres of their land for America. In 1832, the Creeks signed a treaty opening up parts of their land to American settlers, in exchange for guaranteed protected ownership over the rest of their remaining land. After settlers ceaselessly harassed the Creeks without intervention from the government, the Creeks retaliated. This retaliation gave Jackson all the reason he needed to execute a forced removal. In 1836 Jackson ordered the forced removal of 15,000 Creeks from the land they had left. The Creeks were then relocated West with no removal treaty; of the 15,000 Creeks who were removed, 3,500 died on the way to their new land.
Finally, the Seminoles were removed after 13 total years of war spanning for four decades. During the second Seminole War which started in 1835, Jackson spent around $50 million in order to defeat the Seminoles. The expected budget was around $5 million, but Jackson persisted. Despite winning the Second Seminole war, in which about 3,000 Indians died, many Seminoles still refused to leave causing the Third Seminole War to break out in 1855. By 1858, the remaining Seminoles were paid to vacate their homes.
The Federal Government essentially facilitated the illegal removal of the Indian tribes. Congress did nothing to ensure the legitimacy of these treaties and their logistics; meanwhile, the treaties themselves gave no guidance to begin with. Therefore, all administrative action was given to the Commissary General Gibson, along with help from the War Department to execute most of the coordination of removal. Additionally, throughout the whole process, judicial review was essentially non-existent. Finally, in all of the removal treaties, negotiators tricked and bribed Indian authorities into signing the removal treaties. These treaties contained little no logistical and administrative details, and the Senate approved the treaties with little to no oversight. Many politicians during Jackson’s terms even advocated for the Indians and denounced their maltreatment, but Jackson and Congress both completely ignored their concerns.
Jackson, along with the rest of his administration, ultimately succeeded in removing the Indians from the Southeast. Through various methods, the Indians were cheated, harassed, and forced out their respective lands. All attempts to support the Indians by the Supreme Court, by missionaries, or by other men of political power were swiftly thwarted and ignored. By 1850, more than 10,000 Indians died during the various migrations West of the Mississippi River. Despite supposedly securing the Indian’s new land, Americans would continue on to force the Indians out of their land into different and inferior lands. Jackson’s actions, while effective, would destroy the lives of thousands of Indian families and would continue to affect them for years to come.