Indian Removal Act Flashcards
Introduction:
The Indian Removal Act was signed into law by president Andrew Jackson on May 28, 1830. The act authorized the president to exchange East homelands for land in the west Mississippi where Indian Americans already habited. Or where the whites were more “civilized”
The Cherokee Nation
The Cherokee people have been recognized as a nation by treaty with the US. The Cherokee had a written language, legislature, court system and militia.
Fun fact:
They fought their removal all the way to the Supreme Court which ruled in their favor. But president Jackson refused to enforce the courts ruling and allied the state of Georgia to remove the Cherokee from their land.
Trail of Tears
The trails of tears is people being forced to move to the west.
Such as the Cherokees that were forced to move 1,000 miles west on foot. And in the way 4,000 Cherokees died from cold, the lack of food, shelter and disease.
Source #1
”Strangely enough they have a mind to till the soil and the love of possession is a disease with them.” “They take their tithes from the poor and weak to support the rich and those who rule.They claim this mother of ours, the earth, for their own and fence their neighbors away; they deface her with their buildings and their refuse. The nation is like a spring freshet that overruns its banks and destroys all that are in its path.We cannot dwell side by side. Only seven years ago we made a treaty by which we were assured that the buffalo country should be left to us forever. Now they threaten to take that away from us. My brothers, shall we submit or shall we say to them: ‘First kill me before you take possession of my land ”(Sitting Bull).
This is a quote by sitting bull, he basically explains that the government “loves possession” and it’s like a “disease” that they take with them that destroys everything that’s on their way.That they want to take away from the poor/weak to support more the wealthier/rich. That they are trying to claim their land even tho they had a treaty “years ago” and still they are trying to take it from them. By him trying to unite his people and say “first kill me before you take possession of my land”
Source #2
“One major effect is that the Native American population severely decreased. While on the Trail of Tears, many Native Americans endured hypothermia, starvation, and sickness. More than 4,000 natives died due to these conditions, leaving the Native American population hanging by a thread. The other major effect is that since there was only a handful of Indians that survived the horrible journey, the culture quickly became, and still is today, on the verge of extinction.”
In my second source it talks about talks about the Trail of Tears and how the Native Americans died due to hypothermia, sickness or starvation. How in the way more than 4000 people died due to the conditions given. Making most of the tribes “hang by a tread” due to most of them dying. Also many of those people are still on the verge of extinction.
Source #3
”Due to the poor sanitation of the internment camps, deadly diseases such as whooping cough, measles and dysentery spread among the Cherokee.”
This source talks about the poor sanitation of the camps making a lot of native Americans pass because of diseases such as whooping cough (it’s a highly contagious respiratory tract infection)
Fun fact there is now a vaccine but back then they didn’t and it was consider a childhood disease.
Source #4
“The Choctaw, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Creeks, and Seminoles signed treaties agreeing to leave their homes in the southeast and move west. Their travels were marked by outbreaks of cholera, inadequate supplies, bitter cold, and death from starvation and exhaustion. The Cherokees’ march was a forced one under the direction of the United States army, and it came to be known as the “Trail of Tears” or, in their own term, “The Place Where They Cried.” Removal was a tragedy as thousands of people were forced to leave behind their homes, livestock, crops, and places that had spiritual significance for them.”
My 4th source talks about five tribes that signed a treaty to leave their crops,homes, livestock’s just like place that had a spiritual meaning to them, in general in the south to move to the west. how many died because of starvation exhaustion etc.
How the Cherokees were forced to March by the army And it known as the trail of tears but or as they best know it as “the pace where they cried”
Source #5
“The five major tribes affected were the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole. These were called The Civilised Tribes that had already taken on a degree of integration into a more modern westernised culture, such as developing written language and learning to read and write.It overturned the more concessionary attitude of ex-President George Washington that aimed for ‘acculturation’ after debate with the Indian Nations.”
This source talks about the 5 tribes that were mentioned before and how they were the most civilized at the time by having their own language, degree of integration, learned to read and write.
Source #6
“There was a time when we did not know the whites — our wants were then fewer than they are now. They were always within our control — we had then seen nothing which we could not get. Before our intercourse with the whites, who have caused such a destruction in our game, we could lie down to sleep, and when we awoke we would find the buffalo feeding around our camp — but now we are killing them for their skins, and feeding the wolves with their flesh, to make our children cry over their bones.”-Sharitarish
This source talks about how living with the whites changed their lives and culture because before when the sun arises they could wake up to see the Buffalo feeding around their camps but now that they are neighbors with the whites instead they are killing them for their skin.
Source #7
“Half the infants, six months or a year, and all the aged over 60 had been killed directly, and one fourth of the remainder. There seems to be no place, nor means, nor time for the recovery of any who are now sick.” -Cherokee missionary Daniel S. Butrick on the prison camps
Demonstrates source #1 and #2 is believable because it has the same quote of sitting bull (source #1) and it talks about many of them dying due to certain diseases. (Source #2)
Source #7 part 2
“Jackson thought this would be beneficial to the eastern Indians.It was not helpful, in fact it was very unfair.This meant the Cherokees had to leave the ancient land, already built and developed lands, schools, and community. And then rebuild all of those man made objects they created. And leaving the ancient land, that they settled on years ago. But even though Jackson thought this was beneficial to the Indians, he was only benefitting the white pioneers, while he was hurting the Indians. Of course this was an extremely hard choice that the Indians had to understand completely and obviously.”
Demonstrates source #4 and #5 are believable because it talks about the 5 tribes that signed treaty’s with the government not lasting much (source #4) and how it was unfair for them since they were already civilized. And the things they had to leave to move to the west and do everything they had in the East on the west. (Source #5)
Source #8
“In the early 1800s, the sovereign Cherokee nation covered a vast region that included northwest Georgia and adjacent land in Tennessee, North Carolina and Alabama. Under the terms of an 1819 treaty, the United States guaranteed that Cherokee land would be off-limits to white settlers forever. Forever lasted less than 20 years. Although the treaty mandated the removal of “all white people who have intruded, or may hereafter intrude, on the lands of the Cherokees,” the United States instead forcibly removed more than 15,000 Cherokees in 1838 and 1839. As many as 4,000 died of disease, starvation and exposure during their detention and forced migration through nine states that became known as the “Trail of Tears.”
Demonstrates source #2, #3 is believable because it also talks about how many people died and due to what conditions (source #2 & #3) and talks about “the trial of tears” (source #2)
Source #9
“This act affected not only the southeastern nations, but many others further north. The removal was supposed to be voluntary and peaceful, and it was that way for the tribes that agreed to the conditions. But the southeastern nations resisted, and Jackson forced them to leave. Jackson’s attitude toward Native Americans was paternalistic and patronizing – he described them as children in need of guidance. and believed the removal policy was beneficial to the Indians. Most white Americans thought that the United States would never extend beyond the Mississippi. Removal would save Indian people from the depredations of whites, and would resettle them in an area where they could govern themselves in peace. But some Americans saw this as an excuse for a brutal and inhumane course of action, and protested loudly against removal.”
Demonstrates source #4 is believable because it also talks about how they were being forced to move even tho it was supposed to be voluntary.
Source #10
“Even though the Cherokee tribe helped Jackson win the Battle Of the Creek in 1813.Many Cherokee’s lives were lost in that battle. Yet they weren’t rewarded. As it states in the Trail of Tears.But Jackson didn’t care about their help, he cared about white settlers and their wants.Also told about the Cherokees, “they neither have intelligence, industry, the moral habits, nor the desire to improve” –Historynet.com. Yet even though Andrew Jackson said this, the Cherokees had a government, a written language, an newspaper. And some like John Ross even had slaves and large estates.But Jackson didn’t care.Jackson was extremely unfair,he let lottery winners have the Indians houses, land and anything they owned.”
Demonstrates source #2 #5 #6 is believable because it also talks about the trial of tears(source #2), how the 5 tribes mentioned before were civilized but Jackson did not care and still decided to break the treaty and make them move to the west.(source #5) and how moving to the west with the whites instead of helping them changed their cultures, believes and a lot more.(source #6)
Conclusion:
In conclusion the removal Act affected many Indian Native Americans by, changing their culture, believes and others. Actions such as the Trail of Tears that made a lot of them pass away, get diseases such as whooping cough and others. The removal act was just forcing the Indian Native Americans to leave their belongings that had a sentimental value to them and their culture due to the fact that the government wanted that area.NOT respecting treaties they agreed to, and taking the land of the Cherokee Nation which was known for having their own written language, legislature, court system and militia.
