Indian Removal Act
Critical Thinking Essay
For thousands of years, Indians freely inhabited American land with peace and harmony. Then, all of that drastically changed when the white settlers began encroaching on their territory. Only the Five Civilized Tribes by the 1830 's proved to be the most suitable in this rapidly changing environment, but just when they started adopting the whites ' ways of life, they were forced out of their land. Years have passed and Indians still only hold small pieces of territory. Although some reparations have been made to the Indians, it will never change history and its horrible lasting outcome. Some people even believe that the Indian Removal Act was not necessary at all.
The Indian Removal Act of 1830 was designed to remove all Indians east of the Mississippi River out west into what is now known as Oklahoma. There are several reasons why Indian removal occurred. Most importantly, expanding white settlements were inevitable as the population grew. Native Americans were harassed by these settlers because they wanted their land. For instance, gold was found in Georgia, thus making the Cherokee land more desirable. The Cherokee were forced out although the court case Cherokee Nation v. Georgia ruled that the Cherokee had a right to their land and that the Indian Removal Act was unconstitutional (“Native Americans”).
Aside from white men acquiring native land because of its resources, Indians were pushed out because they were seen as salvages. Some Americans believed the Indians were not capable of being civilized since they were nomadic people. Other Americans admired Indians and their contribution to the history of the United Stated. The individuals who liked the Indians, such as Speaker of the House Henry Clay, and senator Daniel Webster, strongly opposed the Indian Removal Act. Racism was prevalent toward Natives since the Creek, Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Seminole seemed the most capable of adopting English ways of living. The
For thousands of years, Indians freely inhabited American land with peace and harmony. Then, all of that drastically changed when the white settlers began encroaching on their territory. Only the Five Civilized Tribes by the 1830 's proved to be the most suitable in this rapidly changing environment, but just when they started adopting the whites ' ways of life, they were forced out of their land. Years have passed and Indians still only hold small pieces of territory. Although some reparations have been made to the Indians, it will never change history and its horrible lasting outcome. Some people even believe that the Indian Removal Act was not necessary at all.
The Indian Removal Act of 1830 was designed to remove all Indians east of the Mississippi River out west into what is now known as Oklahoma. There are several reasons why Indian removal occurred. Most importantly, expanding white settlements were inevitable as the population grew. Native Americans were harassed by these settlers because they wanted their land. For instance, gold was found in Georgia, thus making the Cherokee land more desirable. The Cherokee were forced out although the court case Cherokee Nation v. Georgia ruled that the Cherokee had a right to their land and that the Indian Removal Act was unconstitutional (“Native Americans”).
Aside from white men acquiring native land because of its resources, Indians were pushed out because they were seen as salvages. Some Americans believed the Indians were not capable of being civilized since they were nomadic people. Other Americans admired Indians and their contribution to the history of the United Stated. The individuals who liked the Indians, such as Speaker of the House Henry Clay, and senator Daniel Webster, strongly opposed the Indian Removal Act. Racism was prevalent toward Natives since the Creek, Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Seminole seemed the most capable of adopting English ways of living. The
Cited: Aboukhadijeh, Feross. "Indian Removal" StudyNotes.org. StudyNotes, Inc., 17 Nov. 2012. Web. 18 Oct. 2013. Baker, William Charles. "US Approves $4.5 Billion in Reparations to Indians, Black Farmers." Digital Journal. N.p., 9 Dec. 2010. Web. 17 Oct. 2013. Harden, Nathan. "Petition Demands Reparations for Native Americans.” National Review Online. Phi Beta Cons, 1 Feb. 2013. Web. 18 Oct. 2013. "Indian Removal." Africans in America. PBS, n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2013. "The Effects of Removal on American Indian Tribes." Native Americans and the Land. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2013.