The Trail of Tears was a dark turn in Native American history, which also affected Mississippi during Andrew Jackson’s presidency. Jackson’s Indian Removal Act forced out the Native Americans out of their land by the federal government and walk thousands of miles to designated territories across the Mississippi river. This was caused by white America’s urge to expand and grow cotton in the southern states. Since majority of the states was owned by the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Seminole, and Creek tribes Almost 125,000 Indians preoccupied the states of Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Florida during the 1830s since the time of their ancestors. This issue boiled over when white settlers were infuriated by the population of Native
…show more content…
But, the U.S. Supreme Court intervened and halted the enforcement of these government laws. Those cases were Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1831) and Worchester v. Georgia (1832), where “the U.S. Supreme Court objected to these practices and affirmed that native nations were sovereign nations “in which the laws of Georgia [and other states] can have no force.” This news caught the attention of President Andrew Jackson, who got wind of this issue, whereby, “Southern states were determined to take ownership of Indian lands and would go to great lengths to secure this …show more content…
But, Congress approved the treaty even though John Ross had 16,000 signatures on his petition to fight back the ruling. Only 2,000 Cherokees left their land for territory along the Mississippi River. New U.S. President Martin Van Buren appointed “General Winfield Scott and 7,000 soldiers to expedite the removal process. Scott and his troops forced the Cherokee into stockades at bayonet point while whites looted their homes and belongings.” Within that move, the soldiers “marched the Indians more than 1,200 miles to Indian territory. Whooping cough, typhus, dysentery, cholera and starvation were epidemic along the way, and historians estimate that more than 5,000 Cherokee died as a result of the
But, the U.S. Supreme Court intervened and halted the enforcement of these government laws. Those cases were Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1831) and Worchester v. Georgia (1832), where “the U.S. Supreme Court objected to these practices and affirmed that native nations were sovereign nations “in which the laws of Georgia [and other states] can have no force.” This news caught the attention of President Andrew Jackson, who got wind of this issue, whereby, “Southern states were determined to take ownership of Indian lands and would go to great lengths to secure this …show more content…
But, Congress approved the treaty even though John Ross had 16,000 signatures on his petition to fight back the ruling. Only 2,000 Cherokees left their land for territory along the Mississippi River. New U.S. President Martin Van Buren appointed “General Winfield Scott and 7,000 soldiers to expedite the removal process. Scott and his troops forced the Cherokee into stockades at bayonet point while whites looted their homes and belongings.” Within that move, the soldiers “marched the Indians more than 1,200 miles to Indian territory. Whooping cough, typhus, dysentery, cholera and starvation were epidemic along the way, and historians estimate that more than 5,000 Cherokee died as a result of the