Indian Removal

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'Indian Removal was a nineteenth century policy of the government of the United States that sought to relocate American Indian (or "Native American") tribes living east of the Mississippi River to lands w

== est of the river. In the decades following the American Revolution, the rapidly increasing population of the United States resulted in numerous treaties in which lands were purchased from Native Americans. Eventually, the U.S. government began encouraging Indian tribes to sell their land by offering them land in the West, outside the boundaries of the then-existing U.S. states, where the tribes could resettle. This process was accelerated with the passage of the [[ == Indian Removal Act]] of [[1830]], which provided funds for President [[Andrew Jackson]] to conduct land-exchange ("removal") treaties. An estimated 100,000 American Indians eventually relocated in the West as a result of this policy, most of them emigrating during the 1830s, settling in what was known as the, "[[Indian territory]]" or the present state of Oklahoma.<ref>100,000 American Indians: Russell Thornton, "The Demography of the Trail of Tears Period", in William L. Anderson, ed., ''Cherokee Removal: Before and After'', p. 75.</ref> Contrary to some modern misconceptions (and misrepresentations<ref>Satz, "Rhetoric Versus Reality: The Indian Policy of Andrew Jackson" lists some published works that "have erroneously argued or implied that emigration to the West was obligatory for all eastern Indians under the terms of the Removal Act itself", p. 31, p. 47n.13.</ref>), the Removal Act did not order the forced removal of any Native Americans.<ref>Wallace, ''The Long, Bitter Trail: Andrew Jackson and the Indians'', p. 56.</ref> In theory, emigration was supposed to be voluntary, however if they decided to stay then they would be without protection, without funds, and at the mercy of the states<ref>Zinn, "A People's History of the United States", p. 138.</ref>. In practice, however, the Jackson administration put great pressure on tribal leaders to sign removal treaties. This pressure created bitter divisions within American Indian nations, as different tribal leaders advocated different responses to the question of removal. Sometimes, U.S. government officials ignored tribal leaders who resisted signing removal treaties and dealt with those who favored removal. The [[Treaty of New Echota]], for example, was signed by a faction of prominent [[Cherokee]] leaders, but not by the elected tribal leadership. The terms of the treaty were enforced by President [[Martin Van Buren]], which resulted in the deaths of an estimated 4,000 Cherokees (mostly from disease) on the [[Trail of Tears]]. The [[Choctaw]] tribe also suffered greatly from disease during removal. The suffering which resulted from Indian Removal was aggravated by poor administration, inadequate measures taken to provide for the emigrants (because contracts for transport and provisions were often awarded to the lowest bidder, costs and services were cut), and failure to protect Indian legal rights before and after emigration. Most American Indians reluctantly but peacefully complied with the terms of the removal treaties, often with bitter resignation. Some groups, however, went to war to resist the implementation of removal treaties. This resulted in two short wars (the [[Black Hawk War]] of 1832 and the [[Second Creek War]] of 1836), as well as the long and costly [[Second Seminole War]] (1835–1842). ==Background== {{sect-stub}} Since the presidency of [[Thomas Jefferson]], America's policy had been to allow Indians to remain east of the Mississippi as long as they became [[Assimilation (sociology)|assimilated]] or "civilized." They were to settle in one place, farm the land, divide communal land into private property, and adopt democracy.[citation needed] ==Indian Removal in the South== In 1830, some of the "[[Five Civilized Tribes]]" — the [[Chickasaw]], [[Choctaw]], [[Creek people|Creek]], [[Seminole]], and [[Cherokee]] — were still living east of the Mississippi, while others had already moved to the Indian Territory. They were called "civilized" because many tribesmen had adopted various aspects of [[European-American]] culture, including [[Christianity]]. The Cherokees had a system of writing their own language, developed by [[Sequoyah]], and published a newspaper in Cherokee and English. In spite of this [[acculturation]] and acceptance of the law, the position of the tribes was not secure. Many white settlers and land speculators simply desired the land that was occupied by the tribes. Others believed that the presence of the tribes was a threat to peace and security, based on previous wars waged between the United States and Native Americans, some of whom had been armed by enemies of the United States, such as Great Britain and Spain. [[Image:Trails of Tears en.png|thumb|350px|Routes of southern removals.]] Accordingly, governments of the various U.S. states desired that all tribal lands within their boundaries be placed under state jurisdiction. In [[1830]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] passed a law which prohibited whites from living on Indian territory after March 31, 1831 without a license from the state. This law was written to justify removing white missionaries who were helping the Indians resist removal. Missionary organizer [[Jeremiah Evarts]] urged the Cherokee Nation to take their case to the [[Supreme Court of the United States|U.S. Supreme Court]]. The [[John Marshall|Marshall court]] ruled that while Indian tribes were not sovereign nations (''[[Cherokee Nation v. Georgia]]'', [[1831]]), state laws had no force on tribal lands (''[[Worcester v. Georgia]]'', [[1832]]). President Andrew Jackson is often quoted as having responded to the court by defiantly proclaiming, "John Marshall has made his decision. Now let him enforce it!" Jackson probably did not say this, although he was criticized (then and since) for making no effort to protect the tribes from state governments.<ref>Robert Remini, ''Andrew Jackson and his Indian Wars'', page 257.</ref> Andrew Jackson and other candidates of the new [[United States Democratic Party|Democratic Party]] had made Indian Removal a major goal in the campaign of [[1828]]. In 1830, Congress passed the [[Indian Removal Act]] and President Jackson signed it into law. The Removal Act provided for the government to negotiate removal treaties with the various tribes. The [[Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek]] with the Choctaw was the first such removal treaty implemented; while around 7,000 Choctaws ultimately stayed in Mississippi, about 14,000 moved along the [[Red River (Mississippi watershed)|Red River]]. Other treaties, like the dubious [[Treaty of New Echota]] with the Cherokee, followed, resulting in the [[Trail of Tears]]. As a result, the five tribes were resettled in the new [[Indian Territory]] in modern-day [[Oklahoma]] and parts of [[Kansas]]. Some Indians eluded removal, while those who lived on individually owned land (rather than tribal domains) were not subject to removal. Those who stayed behind eventually formed tribal groups including the Eastern Band Cherokee, based in [[North Carolina]]. In 1835, the Seminoles refused to leave [[Florida]], leading to the [[Second Seminole War]]. The most important leader in the war was [[Osceola]], who led the Seminoles in their fight against removal. While based in the [[Everglades]] of Florida, Osceola and his band used surprise attacks to defeat the U.S. Army in many battles. In 1837, Osceola was seized by deceit upon the orders of U.S. General T.S. Jesup when Osceola came under a flag of truce to negotiate peace[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osceola#Captured_by_deceit][http://community-2.webtv.net/The-Johnz/BIOGRAPHYONTHE/]. He died in prison. The Seminoles continued to fight. Some traveled deeper into the Everglades, while others moved west. The Second Seminole War ended in 1842, when the United States won. <big>'''Southern Removals''' {| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;" !bgcolor="#FFEBAD"|Nation !bgcolor="#FFEBAD"|Population east of the Mississippi before removal treaty !bgcolor="#FFEBAD"|Removal treaty (year signed) !bgcolor="#FFEBAD"|Years of major emigration !bgcolor="#FFEBAD"|Total number emigrated or forcibly removed !bgcolor="#FFEBAD"|Number stayed in Southeast !bgcolor="#FFEBAD"|Deaths during removal !bgcolor="#FFEBAD"|Deaths from warfare |- |[[Choctaw]] |19,554 <ref name="fn_(a)">Foreman, p. 47 n.10 (1830 census). </ref> |[[Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek|Dancing Rabbit Creek (1830)]] |1831-1836 |12,500 |7,000 <ref name="fn_(b)">Several thousand more emigrated West from 1844-49; Foreman, pp. 103-4. </ref> |2,000-4,000+ ([[Cholera]]) |n/a |- |[[Creek (people)|Creek]] |22,700 + 900 black slaves <ref name="fn_(c)">Foreman, p. 111 (1832 census). </ref> |[[Treaty of Cusseta|Cusseta (1832)]] |1834-1837 |19,600 <ref name="fn_(d)">Remini, p. 272. </ref> |? |3,500 (disease after removal)<ref name="fn_(e)">Russell Thornton, "Demography of the Trail of Tears", p.85. </ref> |? ([[Second Creek War]]) |- |[[Chickasaw]] | 4,914 + 1,156 black slaves |[[Treaty of Pontotoc Creek|Pontotoc Creek (1832)]] |1837-1847 |over 4,000 |hundreds |a few from disease |n/a |- |[[Cherokee]] |21,500 + 2,000 black slaves |[[Treaty of New Echota|New Echota (1835)]] |1836-1838 |20,000 + 2,000 slaves |1,000 |2,000-8,000 |n/a |- |[[Seminole]] |5,000 + fugitive slaves |[[Treaty of Payne's Landing|Payne's Landing (1832)]] |1832-1842 |2,833 <ref name="fn_(f)">Prucha, p. 233. </ref> |250-500 <ref name="fn_(g)">Low figure from Prucha, p. 233; high from Wallace, p. 101. </ref> | |700 ([[Second Seminole War]]) |} <div style="font-size: 85%"> ''Many figures have been rounded.'' </div> ==Indian Removal in the North== {{sect-stub}} Indian tribes<nowiki> north in the [[Old Northwest]] were far smaller and more fragmented than the Five Civilized Tribes, and so the treaty and emigration <nowiki>process was more piecemeal. Bands of [[Shawnee]]s, [[Ottawa (tribe)|Ottawas]], [[Potawatomi]]s, [[Sac (tribe)|Sauk]]s, and [[Fox (tribe)|Fox]]es signed treaties and relocated to the [[Indian Territory]]. In 1832, a Sauk chief named [[Black Hawk (chief)|Black Hawk]] led a band of Sauk and Fox back to their lands in Illinois. In the [[Black Hawk War]], the U.S. Army and Illinois militia</nowiki>--67.162.228.244 22:42, 8 November 2007 (UTC)--67.162.228.244 22:42, 8 November 2007 (UTC)--67.162.228.244 22:42, 8 November 2007 (UTC)--67.162.228.244 22:42, 8 November 2007 (UTC)--67.162.228.244 22:42, 8 November 2007 (UTC) defeated Black Hawk and his army.

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[edit] References

Anderson, William L., ed. Cherokee</nowiki> Removal: Before and After. Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia Press, 1991. ISBN 0-8203-1482-X.
Ehle, John. Trail of Tears: The Rise and Fall of the Cherokee Nation. New York: Doubleday, 1988. ISBN 0-385-23953-X.
Foreman, Grant. Indian Removal: The Emigration of the Five Civilized Tribes of Indians. Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press, 1932, 11th printing 1989. ISBN 0-8061-1172-0.
Prucha, Francis Paul. The Great Father: The United States Government and the American Indians. Volume I. Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press, 1984. ISBN 0-8032-3668-9.
Remini, Robert V. Andrew Jackson and his Indian Wars. New York: Viking, 2001. ISBN 0-670-91025-2.
Satz, Ronald N. American Indian Policy in the Jacksonian Era. Originally published Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press, 1975. Republished Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press, 2002. ISBN 0-8061-4332-1 (2002 edition).
Thornton, Russell. American Indian Holocaust and Survival: A Population History Since 1492. Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press, 1987. ISBN 0-8061-2074-6.
Wallace, Anthony F.C. The Long, Bitter Trail: Andrew Jackson and the Indians. New York: Hill and Wang, 1993. ISBN 0-8090-1552-8 (paperback); ISBN 0-8090-6631-9 (hardback).