Imagine your family made a beautiful quilt full of their history and lineage, one that has been passed down to each generation. Now imagine that someone offered to buy that quilt from you, promising a good amount of money and another, “better”, quilt. This is like the Cherokee’s situation. The president promised new and better land, but it wasn’t as good as it sounded. When the Indian Removal Act of 1830 was passed, it gave the president, Andrew Jackson, power to talk to the tribes and negotiate them into signing a treaty saying that they will move to the Indian Territory. He promised money and new land, and most tribes moved, but the Cherokee refused, and for good reasons. The Indian Removal act was not justified at all since the Cherokee helped us during the war of 1812, the Supreme Court already sided with the
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Some people believe that because the Indians already signed the treaty, they should still move, but as it was stated before, Americans have broken treaties plenty of times. In addition to that, it was only the chiefs that had actually signed the treaties, not the actual elected government; more than 90% of the Cherokee did not agree to move.
As a final point, many Americans, such as President Andrew Jackson, believe that the Indians were getting a good deal. Free land that’s bigger than Georgia, and 5 million dollars along with it. However, many Cherokee would not even make it to Indian Territory. 4,000 out of 15,000 Cherokee died on the way. Hunger, disease, and exhaustion played a big role in these deaths. Also, the Indians had their horses stolen, and were treated horribly, even in the new land.
In conclusion, the Indian Removal Act was not justified due to the amount of Indians that actually opposed the idea, the deaths caused by the move, and since the Supreme Court already ruled in favor for the
Some people believe that because the Indians already signed the treaty, they should still move, but as it was stated before, Americans have broken treaties plenty of times. In addition to that, it was only the chiefs that had actually signed the treaties, not the actual elected government; more than 90% of the Cherokee did not agree to move.
As a final point, many Americans, such as President Andrew Jackson, believe that the Indians were getting a good deal. Free land that’s bigger than Georgia, and 5 million dollars along with it. However, many Cherokee would not even make it to Indian Territory. 4,000 out of 15,000 Cherokee died on the way. Hunger, disease, and exhaustion played a big role in these deaths. Also, the Indians had their horses stolen, and were treated horribly, even in the new land.
In conclusion, the Indian Removal Act was not justified due to the amount of Indians that actually opposed the idea, the deaths caused by the move, and since the Supreme Court already ruled in favor for the