Hoffman 1

Ms. McKiddy

APEL

9 Sept. 2019

Letter to the Editor

Dear Editor,

After careful examination of Andrew Jackson’s “Second Annual Message,” I have come

to the realization that the author thinks moving these Native Americans around will be beneficial

for both parties involved. I do not agree with the author’s claim because it is morally wrong to

remove people from their native land.

Some readers like I may think Jackson is wrong throughout his entire second annual

message. When he describes “the consequences of a speedy removal will be important to the

United States, individual states, and to the Indiands themselves,” he is practically preaching that

the faster they leave, the sooner the states will benefit (Jackson 2). This is morally wrong

because the Native Americans were there first, and it’s their land. Jackson is even more incorrect

when he asks “what good man would prefer a country covered with forests and ranged by a few

thousand savages to our extensive republic” (Jackson 3). This quote is even more morally wrong

than the last because he refers to them as savages which has a negative connotation associated

with it. He also tries to compare the Native Americans to the average person in the United States

at the time; a person fully engaged in “blessings of liberty, civilization, and religion” (Jackson 3).

As other readers may tell, Jackson was in the wrong for removing the Native Americans

from their homeland, and as people in a republic, the readers and observers should object to this

behavior if it were to occur again.