Narrative Project

When the United States expanded their territory it brought Indian homelands
within their national borders. This irritated some Americans who were thinking about
getting their hands on the new land. Settlers proposed the idea of removing the Indians.
The Indian Removal Act of 1830 stated, That it shall be lawful for the President of the
United States to cause so much of any territory belonging to the United States, west of
the river Mississippi, to be divided into a suitable number of districts, for the
reception of nations of Indians. In other words, the President, Andrew Jackson, has the
right to take as much territory as he wants that is west of the Mississippi and divide it
into districts for the function of the nations of Indians. The game plan was to force the
Indians to move westward to what is now Oklahoma. In President Jacksons first annual
message he declared humanity and national honor demand that every effort should be
made to avert so great a calamity. He is saying that in worst case scenario, we force the
Indians to leave and that he didnt want it to come to forcing them to leave. In President
Jacksons second annual message he states under the protection of the Government
and through the influence of good counsels, to cast off their savage habits and become
an interesting, civilized, and Christian community. President Jackson thinks that
removing the Indians will help the Indians become a civilized community and give them
a more organized government instead of what he calls their savage habits. It ended up
that as said before Congress passed The Indian Removal Act of 1830. Some tribes
resisted it, but that didnt work out too well especially when they used armed forces to
resist because the army simply came in and nearly wiped them out. Their first idea was
better, which was using legal defenses which stated that the Indians were protected from

removal. Georgia refused to recognize their rights so that didnt work out either it but
then they went to the Supreme Court and they upheld their rights but then President
Jackson overruled their decision.
While removing the Indians they didnt make a straight journey to their new land.
For example, the Cherokees had to go from what is now Georgia, to the middle of
Tennessee, then through Illinois and to Springfield, Missouri, and then finally making it
to their land. This journey was called the Trail of Tears. Elizabeth Watt was a lady whose
mother was born along the Trail of Tears. Elizabeth said, This trail was more than
tears. It was death, sorrow, hunger, exposure, and humiliation to a civilized people as
were the Cherokees. This shows that the Trail of Tears was not just a little hike. It was
painful and many died or were extremely weak from the journey. Elizabeth also stated
that when the Indians died along the way they were buried in unmarked graves. Because
of the harsh winter, disease, and starvation, about 4,000 of the 17,000 died.