Indian Removal Act

Native Americans since a long time ago, had lived peacefully as tribes that owned
independent territories and that wanted to avoid any conflict related to the colonies
or being part of the new U.S. However, people became greedier to the point of
wanting to get new territories at any cost. What did that mean? It meant that Native
Americans were the only obstacle to achieve this goal. So how was this whole
process for Native Americans? Is there anything similar to this in Mexico?

In the first place, it is possible to say that a large part of the U.S citizens was only
worried about their own monetary interests. Therefore, they wanted to do anything
in their hands to get more money. This meant that Native Americans were intruders
in territories that were seen as their gold mines.

Unfortunately, at that time, the important thing was to be a white, rich and a U.S
citizen. This meant a great disadvantage for Native Americans, who, despite not
being part of the U.S and its laws, were forced to obey the laws of the U.S or to die
protecting their ancestral homelands.

This is how the infamous “Trail of tears” took place: an act that marked the
history of Native Americans in the worst way possible. Native Americans were
expelled from their homes in a cruel and humiliating way by people who thought
that their interests were more important than the life of other people. A great
example of this is the excuse that gave Andrew Jackson for his plans in his speech
for the Indian Removal Act:

What good man would prefer a country covered with forests and ranged by a
few thousand savages to our extensive Republic, studded with cities, towns,
and prosperous farms (…)

This shows that people really thought that anyone who was not white was a
"savage" who did not deserve any rights. In Mexico, there is a similar situation with
the indigenous people who, for many years, have had fought against slavery,
racism and other things.
However, they had some differences regarding Native Americans: although they
were marginalized, the Spanish crown did recognize the indigenous communities,
gave protection to their land holdings and also gave them access to the Spanish
legal system. Why is that? The answer to that is easy: the Spaniards were more
interested in having indigenous labor than in the ownership of lands.

To sum up, in the U.S, people had no interest in Native Americans as people, they
were treated like animals without any rights. In Mexico, by contrast, even when the
situation of the indigenous people was not the best, it is possible to say that they
had more luck that the Native Americans because they had more rights and were
treated “better”.
 REFERENCES

 https://confabulario.eluniversal.com.mx/la-historia-descubierta-de-la-esclavitud-indigena-
en-america/
 https://www.historiadelnuevomundo.com/index.php/2018/10/los-pueblos-de-indios/
 https://scielo.conicyt.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0716-54552001002300009
 Citation: President Jackson's Message to Congress "On Indian Removal", December 6,
1830; Records of the United States Senate, 1789‐1990; Record Group 46; Records of the
United States Senate, 1789‐1990; National Archives and Records Administration  (NARA]