Two Interests, One Goal
Advocates of removing Indian tribes to the western expanse gave voice to their desires with the Indian Removal Act of 1830. This single piece of legislation opened the door for a government sponsored relocation process, empowering the President of the United States to exchange lands west of the Mississippi River for much coveted Indian territory. The Indian Removal Act was the product of years of agitation by southern leaders and powerful business interests. The southern states were motivated by the fear of renewed conflicts with those tribes along their borders. Land speculators wanted to exploit the fertile fields occupied by native tribes. Both parties were frustrated by the slowness of efforts to negotiate individual land exchanges and brought pressure on the federal government to find a solution. Along with assimilation, the Indian Removal Act would drive American policy towards native people for the next 50 years.
The Five Civilized Tribes
The Indian Removal Act was directed primarily at those Indian nations that remained on lands in proximity to the United States. Often referred to as the “Five Civilized Tribes,” these communities had adopted many of the agricultural and economic standards of the surrounding states. They were the Creek, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Seminole nations--they had accepted many of the aspects of American culture while remaining linked to their native heritage. They had established successful farms, cultivated produce, and participated in trade with the United States. To the states they bordered, however, they remained an obstacle to American expansion and were subsequently the subject of a renewed effort to force a relocation.
A Battle Over Land
Even while they prospered, the Five Civilized Tribes found themselves confined to their own borders. As early as 1820, efforts were made to limit the amount of land within the United States that could be purchased by native tribes. In 1823, the Supreme Court ruled that the tribes could occupy land within the borders of the United States but they could not own it. This meant that the tribes could not expand and open up new markets for the agricultural efforts. In response, the Cherokee, Chickasaw, and Creek nations limited future land sales to the American government. The Seminole and Creek nations had fought a series of border wars over previous treaties with the United States and soon lost all faith in the negotiation process. By 1830, few leaders in the five tribes trusted the American government enough to take negotiations efforts at face value.
Jackson’s Goal
In the opening paragraph of the Indian Removal Act, the President of the United States was empowered to exchange land in federally administered territory west of the Mississippi River for land belonging to Indian nations. This legislation was rushed through Congress by the sheer force of will of one man--Andrew Jackson. A man of public contradictions, Jackson felt that native tribes required the guidance and protection of the United States but still managed to carry out what became the most brutal forced removal efforts perpetrated by one government against another.
Mark M. Boatner III, Encyclopedia of the American Revolution. (Mechanicsburg: Stackpole Books, 1994).
Mark C Carnes, Ed. U.S. History. (New York: MacMillan Library Reference, 1998).
Marilyn Miller and Martin Faux, American History Desk Reference. (New York: MacMillan, 1997).
Carl Waldman, Atlas of the North American Indian. (New York: Checkmark Books, 2000).
Carl Waldman, Encyclopedia of Native Tribes. (New York: Checkmark Books, 2006).
