May 29 1830

The Washington Times

THE INDIAN ROMOVAL ACT

Article by Gala Sereno

Yesterday, Andrew Jackson exchanged land west of the Mississippi River for the southeastern territory of Five Civilized Tribes, the Cherokees, Creeks, Choataus, Chickasaws, and Seminoles.   These were the five most civilized tribes. The cherokees, Creeks, Seminole, Choctaw, and Chickasaw were called the five cherished tribes because they were so prosperous. They grew wheat, corn and other vegetables.  They also had cotton fields. Many owned their own large plantations with big homes and fruit orchards and wheat, corn and cotton fields. Pressured by the president, Congress passed the Indian Removal Act. 

  As everyone remembers on 1828 Jackson was elected president and one of his major objectives was The Indian Removal Act. Everyone truly knew he would go through with this goal. They wanted the land to make cotton and Jackson said in a letter that they were to close to them and they should move so they would have peace. They needed to open new land for settlement by citizens of the United States. 

Here is some of the letters he sent to the Indians,  “ Friends and brothers listen. Where you now are, you and native white children are too near to each other to live in harmony and peace Beyond the great river Mississippi…your father has vided a country large enough for all of you, and he advises you to remove to it. There your white brothers will not trouble you…and can live upon it as long as the grass grows or the water runs, and peace and plenty. The land beyond the Mississippi River belongs to the president and no one else, and he will give it to you forever”

Now that the Indian removal act has passed, the Indians have had to move. Approximately 60,000 Native Americans were forced to migrate. This was supposed to be a peaceful exchange but for some it was not.   Indians who remained, became citizens of the state in which they were to live. For those who obeyed the law, the process was followed.   The southeastern tribes refused to obey with this ruling. Therefore, Jackson took more forceful measures to remove them from their land.  The Indian Removal law provided the president 500,000 to establish districts west of the Mississippi River to trade eastern tribal lands for those districts, to compensate the Indians for the cost of their removal and the improvements on their homesteads, and pay one years worth of subsistence to those who went west.