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Melissa
Mr. -------Social Studies
26 October 2015
Narrative Project
Although the expansion of land provided new opportunities for colonists, it brought about
tragedy for many American Indians. Their territory diminished in size as the United States
claimed more land. At the beginning, the Indians were generous and peaceful, but soon became
angry and scared as their home was gradually taken away. In response, Americans tried to
incorporate the tribes into the countrys way of life, but this plan failed. In the end, the settlers
who coveted the American Indians lands asked for the removal of tribes to less desirable areas.
A decision was made to end the crisis in 1830 when Congress passed the Indian Removal
Act to clear Indians from lands east of the Mississippi River. Many Americans saw this as a way
to save them. One of the main contributors to this idea was President Andrew Jackson, who
remained in presidency from March 4, 1829 until March 4, 1837. In his second annual speech,
President Andrew Jackson claims that, surrounded by the whites with their arts of civilization,
which by destroying the resources of the savage, doom him [the Indians] to weakness and
decay. He, along with others, seemed to truly believe relocation was the Indians only choice for
survival. Soon after, President Jackson reinforces his earlier thoughts in his fifth annual speech
concluding they dont have the key ingredients, intelligence and willingness, to have the slightest
possibility of staying.
The Native Americans werent happy with the act or the United States and with good
reason. Anyone could see the United States was on the better side of the bargain. Within the

Indian Removal Act of 1830, it even states, such lands shall revert to the United States, if the
Indians become extinct, or abandon the same. So, the United States would automatically get the
Indians homeland and possibly the Indians sanctuary if they left or died. Though some groups
of Indians went along with the removal, some of them resisted. One way they began to fight back
was in words by sending official delegations to the capital. For example, the Cherokees
attempted a legal defense, claiming they were protected from removal by earlier treaties. When
Georgia refused to recognize the treaty rights, the Cherokees appealed to the Supreme Court. In
Worcester v. Georgia, the Court upheld the Cherokees treaty rights. Still, they were forced to go
to the sanctuary because President Jackson refused to enforce the Courts decision. Another way,
the Indians fought was through actions. The Seminoles of Florida and the Sauk and Fox Indians
of Wisconsin Territory turned to armed resistance and tried to hold off the soldiers. Sadly, by
resisting the changes it resulted in their near extinction. To sum up, both attempts ended up being
quite useless.
It was a dark time when the Indians were forced out of their homes. The soldiers who
drove them out acted with no compassion or humanitarianism. A small girl by the name of Eliza
Whitmire was a slave to the Indians and witnessed the horrors. Eliza shares, on the heels of the
retreating Indians came greedy whites to pillage the Indian's homes. . . they even rifled the
graves for any jewelry, or other ornaments that might have been buried with the dead. The
soldiers acted with no respect towards the Indians homes or towards the people themselves as
the Indians had to watch in dismay.
The journey was also hard on the Indians as they left their homes and memories behind.
One of the most well-known trips is called the Trail of Tears. An Indian Removal Map shows the
trial starting in New Echota and traveling north to Nashville. From there they headed to

Springfield and finally to Cherokee Creek. The expedition wasnt just tear-filled as the name
states, but also as Cherokee woman Elizabeth Watts puts, was death, sorrow, hunger, exposure,
and humiliation to a civilized people.
Even though the Trail of Tears is the most emphasized, every journey for the Indians was
harsh. In one group of Indians, General Winfield Scott orders them to cooperate because then the
operation will go more smooth without fighting and death. Either way, thousands of Indians die
on these journeys. Even a soldier moving the Indians along named Lieutenant L.B. Webster feels
a little guilt. He says how, I always looked on with ... awe, lest their prayers which I felt...
ascending to Heaven and calling for justice to Him who alone can & will grant it... [might] fall
upon my guilty head as one of the instruments of oppression. The benefits reaped did not
outweigh the drawbacks and disadvantages brought upon either side. The event goes down as
one of Americas darkest times.