Indian Removal

Indian Removal

INTRODUCTION

On May 26, 1830, the Indian Removal Act of 1830 was passed by the Twenty-First Congress of the United states of
America. After four months of strong debate, Andrew Jackson signed the bill into law. Land greed was a big reason for
the federal government's position on Indian removal. This desire for Indian lands was also abetted by the Indian hating
mentallity that was peculiar to some American frontiersman.

This period of forcible removal first started with the Cherokee Indians in the state of Georgia. In 1802, the Georgia
legislature signed a compact giving the federal government all of her claims to western lands in exchange for the
government's pledge to extigiush all Indian titles to land within the state. But by the mid-1820's Georgians began to
doubt that the government would withhold its part of the bargain. The Cherokee Indian tribes had a substantial part of
land in Georgia that they had had for many generations though. They were worried about losing their land so they forced
the issue by adopting a written constitution. This document proclaimed that the Cherokee nation had complete
jurisdiction over its own territory.

But by now Indian removal had become entwined with the state of Georgia's rights and the Cherokee tribes had to make
their claims in court. When the Cherokee nation sought aid from newly elected president Andrew Jackson, he informed
them that he would not interfere with the lawful prerogatives of the state of Georgia. J...

Indian Removal

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