In the years succeeding the War of 1812, the land disputes between Natives and U.S. settlements increasingly demanded a solution; Congress eventually passed the Indian Removal Act of 1830, which they believed would settle the century-long land disputes with Natives. This act forced all Native settlements to migrate to the lands west of the Mississippi so that U.S. settlements would be able to expand further. Between the years 1828 and 1838, over 80,000 American Indians were removed from their homelands and pushed west, giving American Government 15,355,767 acres of Native land. (Campbell, G.) While the government attempted to rationalize the policy of providing alternate homelands for the Indians, the functional effect of this migration was
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However, the legislation was effective in paving the way for removal when combined with promises of money and land in the West. Political pressure upon Indian leadership eventually resulted in the signing of treaties to relinquish their eastern and southern lands. The law “...paved the way for the reluctant, and often forcible emigration of tens of thousands of American Indians to the West.” ("Indian reservation.") Perhaps the most famous of these forcible removals was the emigration of the Cherokee Indians, which came to be known as the Trail of Tears. The Removal Act made the promise of aiding the tribes in their move:
“And be it further enacted, That upon the making of any such exchange as is contemplated by this act, it shall and may be lawful for the President to cause such aid and assistance to be furnished to the emigrants as may be necessary and proper to enable them to remove to, and settle in, the country for which they may have exchanged; and also, to give them such aid and assistance as may be necessary for their support and subsistence for the first year after their removal.” (“United States Statutes at Large,” …show more content…
The guarantee found in that Act surely seemed clear, that “...the President solemnly to assure the tribe or nation with which the exchange is made, that the United States will forever secure and guaranty to them and their heirs or successors, the country so exchanged with them…” (“United States Statutes at Large.”) History shows that is one of a litany of broken promises, which Native Americans are still fighting to get
However, the legislation was effective in paving the way for removal when combined with promises of money and land in the West. Political pressure upon Indian leadership eventually resulted in the signing of treaties to relinquish their eastern and southern lands. The law “...paved the way for the reluctant, and often forcible emigration of tens of thousands of American Indians to the West.” ("Indian reservation.") Perhaps the most famous of these forcible removals was the emigration of the Cherokee Indians, which came to be known as the Trail of Tears. The Removal Act made the promise of aiding the tribes in their move:
“And be it further enacted, That upon the making of any such exchange as is contemplated by this act, it shall and may be lawful for the President to cause such aid and assistance to be furnished to the emigrants as may be necessary and proper to enable them to remove to, and settle in, the country for which they may have exchanged; and also, to give them such aid and assistance as may be necessary for their support and subsistence for the first year after their removal.” (“United States Statutes at Large,” …show more content…
The guarantee found in that Act surely seemed clear, that “...the President solemnly to assure the tribe or nation with which the exchange is made, that the United States will forever secure and guaranty to them and their heirs or successors, the country so exchanged with them…” (“United States Statutes at Large.”) History shows that is one of a litany of broken promises, which Native Americans are still fighting to get