ChrlsLopher Creenberg

uemocracy 8esearch ro[ecL

11/14/11
A Iorma| Sh|ft

SLarLlng wlLh Lhe flrsL seLLlers Lo come over Lo Lhe new world Lhe colonlsL's relaLlonshlp
wlLh Lhe naLlve Amerlcans was one of greaL Lenslon 1hls Lenslon was evldenced by Lhe
consLanL uprlslngs and acLs of vlolence beLween Lhe Lwo parLles daLlng all Lhe way back Lo Lhe
foundlng of !amesLown ln 1607 Surprlslngly desplLe Lhese never endlng dlspuLes Lhe
Amerlcan governmenL shled away from handllng any of Lhese lssues by lnsLlLuLlng legal
docLrlne LhaL ls unLll 1830 ln 1830 Lhls blLLer war shlfLed from one handled almosL compleLely
by Lhe people Lo one whlch was heavlly regulaLed and conLrolled by Amerlca's governmenL
under Andrew !ackson Lhe Amerlcan governmenL embarked on a long buL focused mlsslon Lo
ellmlnaLe naLlve Amerlcans from Lhe LasLern unlLed SLaLes sLarLlng wlLh 1he lndlan 8emoval
acL of 1830 1he harsh laws opposlng naLlve Amerlcan rlghLs lmplemenLed durlng Andrew
!ackson's Lenure seemlngly conLradlcLed everyLhlng Amerlca sLood for and compleLely wenL
agalnsL Lhe ma[or values Lhe counLry was founded upon
8efore Lhe 1830's Lhere were almosL no laws whlch formally sub[ugaLed Lhe naLlve
Amerlcans and yeL Lhe colonlsLs belleved Lhe land was naLurally Lhelrs causlng mulLlple vlolenL
uprlslngs Larly ln colonlzaLlon naLlve Amerlcans were forced lnLo slavery by Lhe seLLlers Whlle
mosL naLlve Amerlcans became slaves afLer belng war capLlves lL qulckly became an lnherlLable
way of llfe Whlle Lhe slave culLure ln Amerlca gradually shlfLed Lowards Afrlcan Amerlcans Lhe
sLruggles dldn'L sLop 1he lrench and lndlan War ls one of Lhe mosL Lalked abouL evenLs when lL
comes Lo Lhe ColonlsL's relaLlons wlLh Lhe naLlve Amerlcans and lL was a war whlch plLLed Lhe
colonlsLs flghLlng for 8rlLaln agalnsL Lhe naLlve Amerlcans flghLlng for Lhe lrench over Lhe
deslred Chlo 8lver valley 1he war came Lo a close afLer a saboLaglng of Lhe naLlve Amerlcans ln
whlch Lhey recelved dlsease lnfecLed blankeLs needless Lo say afLer Lhls unsporLlng vlcLory Lhe
colonlsLs belleved Lhey would be able Lo expand wesL aL wlll ln an efforL Lo avold fuLure
confllcLs Luropean offlclals puL Lhe proclamaLlon of 1763 lnLo effecL forclng colonlsLs Lo
purchase any land from Lhe lndlans WlLh Lhe colonlsLs enraged Lhls move ended up havlng [usL
as many negaLlve effecLs as lL would poslLlve 1hese frusLraLlons came Lo frulLlon ln Lhe
followlng years Lhrough vlolenL evenLs such as onLlac's rebelllon and 1he War of 1812 ln whlch
many soldlers from boLh sldes were kllled Whlle Lenslons ran hlgh durlng Lhls perlod of Llme
Lhe newly buddlng Amerlcan governmenL dld llLLle Lo legally puL Lhe lndlan's down
1

1hroughouL Lhls Llme perlod of flghLlng wlLh Lhe lndlans Lhe colonlsLs were also
pursulng Lhelr freedom When Lhe passlve sLruggles over Laxes and 8rlLlsh occupaLlon reached
Lhelr Llpplng polnL Amerlca declded Lo formally announce Lhelr llberLy ln 1he ueclaraLlon of
lndependence ln Lhls documenL !efferson sLressed Lhe lmporLance LhaL every man was
creaLed equally saylng We hold Lhese LruLhs Lo be selfevldenL LhaL all men are creaLed equal
LhaL Lhey are endowed by Lhelr CreaLor wlLh cerLaln unallenable 8lghLs LhaL among Lhese are
Llfe LlberLy and Lhe pursulL of Papplness" 1hls documenL was pumped full of democraLlc ldeals
LhaL Amerlca envlsloned foundlng Lhelr counLry on When Lhe ConsLlLuLlon for Lhe currenL
Amerlcan governmenL was drafLed democracy was sLlll of upmosL lmporLance as evldenced by

1
Wllllam Anderson cbetokee kemovol 8efote ooJ Aftet (ALhens Ceorgla unlverslLy of Ceorgla ress 1991)
Lhe emphasls Lhe documenL puL on a falr Lrlal for all and Lhe facL LhaL lL was deslgned Lo elecL
offlclals Lo represenL Lhe people Clearly Amerlcans were Lrylng Lo form a counLry ln whlch all
men were equal and had rlghLs LhaL were unable Lo be Laken away Powever as we would soon
flnd ouL Amerlca dldn'L wlsh Lo apply Lhls democracy Lo everyone
ln 1829 Andrew !ackson became Lhe sevenLh presldenL of Lhe unlLed SLaLes 8elng a
former war general from 1ennessee who won respecL ln hls vlcLorles agalnsL Lhe lndlans lL
wasn'L surprlslng when hls elecLlon was exLremely conLroverslal Compared Lo Lhe prevlous slx
presldenLs !ackson was Lhe rugged rebel from Lhe wesL Cne of Lhe flrsL Lhlngs !ackson dld once
ln offlce was begln Lo reduce Lhe rlghLs of Lhe lndlans ln an efforL Lo compleLely ellmlnaLe Lhe
LhreaL of lndlans for all Amerlcans he lssued Lhe lndlan 8emoval AcL of 1830 1hls acL was
broughL on prlmarlly because of Lhe souLhern sLaLes who were havlng problems wlLh Lhe
lndlans Lhe blggesL belng Ceorgla 8y 1830 Ceorgla's populaLlon had lncreased Lo slx Llmes
whaL lL had been ln 1790
2
WlLh Lhls many people Lhey needed more land and Lhe flrsL place
Lhey Lrled Lo expand was lnLo norLh WesLern Ceorgla whlch was Cherokee land ln !ackson's
message Lo congress on uecember 6 he ouLllned Lhe plan saylng lL glves me pleasure Lo
announce Lo Congress LhaL Lhe benevolenL pollcy of Lhe CovernmenL sLeadlly pursued for
nearly LhlrLy years ln relaLlon Lo Lhe removal of Lhe lndlans beyond Lhe whlLe seLLlemenLs ls
approachlng Lo a happy consummaLlon" Clearly !ackson had a welldeflned goal Lo rld Lhe LasL
of all lndlan seLLlemenLs and dldn'L seem Lo care how Lhe lndlans felL abouL lL Accordlng Lo
congress Lhe lndlan 8emoval AcL was volunLary" and would only go lnLo effecL lf Lhe leader of

2
ArLhur M Schleslnger !r @be Aqe of Iocksoo (8osLon LlLLle 8rown company 1943)
LhaL lndlvldual lndlan Lrlbe slgned lL
3
1he ChocLaw lndlans were Lhe flrsL Lo fall ln llne when
Lhey agreed Lo 1he 1reaLy of SlLLlng 8abblL Creek ln 1930 ln Lhls exchange 1he ChocLaw Lrlbe
accepLed 13 mllllon acres of land ln currenL day Cklahoma ln reLurn for Lhe 11 mllllon acres
Lhey occupled ln Mlsslsslppl Many Lrlbes followed sulL and agreed Lo Lhe varlous exchanges of
land wlLh llLLle evldence of reslsLance CLher Lrlbes however felL Lhey shouldn'L be forced Lo
leave Lhe land whlch had rlghLfully been Lhelrs for years before Lhe ColonlsLs arrlved uesplLe
Lhe facL LhaL Lhe re locaLlon was lnlLlally posed as a volunLary acL Amerlca proved Lhey were
wllllng Lo go Lo greaL lengLhs Lo make sure every Lrlbe obllged Lo Lhe requesLs" and
unforLunaLely Lhe Cherokees experlenced Lhls ln full when Lhey reslsLed Lhe movemenL ln
Ceorgla
4

1he lndlan Lrlbes however weren'L Lhe only people who sLruggled Lo slgn off on Lhe
documenL When Lhe lndlan 8emoval acL was flrsL posed mosL Amerlcans were all for lL buL
many ChrlsLlan Mlsslonarles LhoughL lL was wrong and were sLrongly agalnsL lL Some of Lhe
blggesL names Lo speak ouL agalnsL Lhe documenL were mlsslonary !eremlah LvarLs and fuLure
presldenL Abraham Llncoln Accordlng Lo !ohn Andrews LvarLs LacLlcs were clear Pe planned
Lo organlze a phalanx of frlendly congressmen Lo presenL Lhe case agalnsL removal on Lhe floor
of Lhe Pouse and SenaLe hoplng Lo convlnce enough !acksonlans LhaL Lhe lmmorallLy of
removal requlred Lhem Lo voLe agalnsL Lhe lndlan 8emoval 8lll AL Lhe same Llme he would
conLlnue Lo barrage Lhe publlc wlLh leLLers pamphleLs and arLlcles on Lhe lndlan quesLlon
along wlLh whaLever oLher lnformaLlon mlghL creaLe a groundswell of publlc oplnlon agalnsL

3
Andrew !ackson ,essoqe oo kemovol of 5ootbeto loJloos A compllotloo of tbe ,essoqes ooJ lopets of tbe
lteslJeots 17891897 (lacLs Cn llle lnc)
hLLp//wwwfoWebcom/acLlvellnk2asp?lLemluWLS2llnLAPlv232Slngle8ecord1rue
4
Wllllam Anderson cbetokee kemoveJ 8efote ooJ Aftet
removal Men llke LvarLs encouraged Lhe Cherokee people Lo Lake Lhelr slLuaLlon Lo Lhe courLs
and ln !une of 1830 Lhe Cherokee people presenLed Lhelr case Lo Lhe Supreme CourL ln a case
referred Lo as Cherokee naLlon vs Ceorgla ln Lhls case aLLorney Wllllam WlrL defended Lhe
Cherokee people and argued LhaL Ceorglas sLaLe leglslaLlon had creaLed laws LhaL go dlrecLly
Lo annlhllaLe Lhe Cherokees as a pollLlcal socleLy" Whlle Lhe verdlcL dldn'L go dlrecLly agalnsL
Lhe Cherokee people lL dld noLhlng Lo help Lhem clalmlng LhaL Lhe Cherokee people weren'L
Lechnlcally consldered a forelgn people by Lhe ConsLlLuLlon and Lherefore couldn'L argue whaL
Lhey orlglnally sued on lL was clear LhaL wlLhouL Lhe supporL of Lhe courLs on Lhelr slde Lhe
Cherokee people would have Lrouble holdlng Lhelr ground
3

1he governmenL wouldn'L Lake no for an answer when Lhe Cherokee people refused Lhe
lndlan 8emoval acL and proved LhaL lL was wllllng Lo go Lo any means necessary Lo keep Lhe
lndlans from sLaylng puL ln 1830 Lhe sLaLe of Ceorgla acLually passed a law sLaLlng no whlLe
men could llve ln lndlan 1errlLory ouL of fear LhaL Lhey would be meeLlng wlLh and helplng Lhe
naLlve Amerlcans Lo avold re locaLlon lollowlng Lhls law Samuel WorcesLer presenLed a case
Lo Lhe Supreme CourL ln whlch he argued LhaL based on Lhe ConsLlLuLlon Ceorgla wasn'L
allowed Lo lmpose such a law 1he Supreme CourL acLually ruled ln favor of Lhe lndlans ln Lhls
case wlLh Chlef !usLlce !ohn Marshall sLaLlng LhaL whlle Amerlcans lnherlLed Lhe rlghL from
CreaL 8rlLaln Lo deal wlLh Lhe naLlve Amerlcans how Lhey felL necessary Lhey galned no rlghLs
Lo Lhelr land Lhus maklng Lhe law unconsLlLuLlonal 1he Supreme CourL belleved Lhe Cherokee
naLlon was a dlsLlncL communlLy and Lherefore Lhe laws Ceorgla creaLed could have no lmpacL

3
!lll norgen cbetokee coses @o looJmotk leJetol ueclsloos lo tbe llqbt fot 5ovetelqoty (norman Cklahoma
unlverslLy of Cklahoma ress 2004)
Whlle !ackson acknowledged Lhe rullng he refused Lo adhere Lo lL
6
When Lhe Cherokees sLlll
showed no slgns of evacuaLlng Lhe area congress proposed Lhe 1reaLy of new LchoLa ln 1833
1hls LreaLy requlred all naLlve Amerlcans Lo leave Lhelr homes and move WesL wlLhln Lhe nexL
Lwo years Whlle Lhe LreaLy was sLrongly proLesLed by Lhe Cherokee naLlonal Councll and never
even goL rlnclpal Chlef !ohn 8oss' slgnaLure Congress raLlfled and amended lL ln 1836 1he
nexL Lwo years were fllled wlLh !ohn 8oss and Lhe Cherokees seeklng any posslble concesslons
from Lhe governmenL buL flndlng none ln uecember of 1837 Lhe Cherokee people were
warned LhaL Lhe LreaLy would ln facL be enforced lf Lhey refused Lo leave and ln May of Lhe
nexL year resldenL van 8uren senL Ceneral Wlnfleld ScoLL lnLo Ceorgla Lo force Lhe Cherokees
from Lhelr land Ceneral ScoLL dellvered Lhe message by sLaLlng 1he resldenL of Lhe unlLed
SLaLes had senL hlm wlLh a powerful army Lo force Lhem Lo obey whaL was lald ouL ln 1he
1reaLy of 1833 Pe ls ofLen quoLed saylng Lvery Cherokee man woman and chlld musL be
ln moLlon"
7
Whlle Lhe mlllLla were Lold Lo LreaL Lhe Lrlbe respecLfully and wlLh care many
mlsslonarles clalmed people were dragged from Lhelr homes and forced Lo leave wlLh noLhlng
more Lhan whaL Lhey were wearlng WhaL would follow ls ofLen consldered one of Lhe darkesL
Llmes ln Lhe Amerlca's hlsLory as an enLlre naLlon was forced Lo embark on whaL ls ofLen
referred Lo as a deaLh march" lL's esLlmaLed LhaL ln Lhls bruLal re locaLlon 4000 of 1300
Cherokees dled
8

Andrew !ackson was a presldenL who rose Lo power by emphaslzlng Lhe lmporLance of
democracy and ls ofLen remembered for Lhe legacy of !acksonlan uemocracy" he lefL As

6
!lll norman cbetokee coses @o looJmotk leJetol ueclsloos lo tbe llqbt fot 5ovetelqoty
7
Wllllam Anderson cbetokee kemoveJ 8efote ooJ Aftet
8
CaLherlne ! uenlal 1rall of 1ears" ocyclopeJlo of Ametlcoo nlstoty xpoosloo ooJ kefotm 181J to
1855 (new ?ork lacLs Cn llle lnc 2010) Ametlcoo nlstoty Oolloe lacLs Cn llle lnc
opposed Lo Lhose who came before hlm !ackson placed less lmporLance on a man's educaLlon
and belleved ln an equal pollLlcal pollcy as opposed Lo one monopollzed by ellLes !ackson
belleved every man should have Lhe rlghL Lo lnfluence hls counLry's governmenL and under hls
relgn nearly all whlLe men galned Lhe rlghL Lo voLe Pow Lhen could a man wlLh Lhese ldeals be
so compelled Lo sub[ugaLe Lhe men who occupled Amerlca before Lhe colonlsLs came over?
Andrew !ackson fully belleved ln Lhe concepL of LLhnlc Cleanslng under hls relgn Amerlca's
governmenL osLraclzed Lhe lndlans Lhrough a serles of acLs and even wenL as far as Lo drlve
Lhem from Lhelr lands wlLh Lhe use of a mlllLary
9
!ackson even wenL as far as Lo defy Lhe
Supreme CourL ln Lhelr 1932 rullng ln Lhe case of WorcesLer vs Ceorgla 1he only Lhlng LhaL can
explaln !ackson's seemlngly exLreme conLrasLs ln values ls Lhe vlew many Amerlcans had durlng
Lhls Llme whlch ls referred Lo as ManlfesL uesLlny AdvocaLes for Lhls Lhlnklng belleved whlLe
Amerlcans were desLlned Lo expand wesLward across Lhe conLlnenL Lo esLabllsh on earLh Lhe
moral dlgnlLy and salvaLlon of man" Clearly !ackson belleved ln a fully democraLlc counLry buL
chose Lo exclude all Lhose who weren'L whlLe
10

ln Amerlca's early years Lhey faced Lhe consLanL obsLacle of llvlng slde by slde wlLh Lhe
naLlve Amerlcans 1he naLlve Amerlcans proved Lo be a formldable enemy LhroughouL Lhe
varlous uprlslngs LhaL occurred before 1830 Amerlca's governmenL sLayed ouL of mosL of Lhese
affalrs durlng Lhls Llme and lnsLead focused on galnlng Lhelr lndependence from CreaL 8rlLaln
uurlng Lhls Llme Lhey creaLed a naLlon founded on Lhe prlnclples of equallLy and democracy
Cnce Amerlca declded Lo address Lhe posslblllLy of WesLern expanslon Lhese ldeals were

9
ArLhur M Schleslnger !r @be Aqe of Iocksoo
10
uanlel Walker Powe wbot nos CoJ wtooqbt @be @toosfotmotloo of Ametlco 18151848 (new ?ork Cxford
unlverslLy ress 2007)
compleLely dlsregarded when deallng wlLh naLlve Amerlcans causlng resldenL Andrew
!ackson Lo leave a legacy whlch seemed dlvlded beLween democracy and cruelLy






















Jorks C|ted


Anderson Wllllam cbetokee kemovol 8efote ooJ Aftet ALhens Ceorgla unlverslLy of Ceorgla
ress 1991


uenlal CaLherlne ! 1rall of 1ears" ocyclopeJlo of Ametlcoo nlstoty xpoosloo ooJ kefotm 181J to
1855 new ?ork lacLs Cn llle lnc 2010 Ametlcoo nlstoty Oolloe lacLs Cn llle lnc hLLp//
wwwfofweb/com/acLlvellnk2asp?lLemluWL32llnLAPlv232Slngle8ecord1rue (accessed
CcLober 20 2011)

Powe uanlel Walker wbot nos CoJ wtooqbt @be @toosfotmotloo of Ametlco 18151848 new
?ork Cxford unlverslLy ress 2007

!ackson Andrew Message on 8emoval of SouLhern lndlans" A compllotloo of tbe ,essoqes ooJ
lopets of tbe lteslJeots 17891897 Ametlcoo nlstoty Oolloe lacLs Cn llle lnc hLLp//wwwfo
Webcom/acLlvellnk2asp?lLemluWL32llnL09230Slngle8ecord1rue (accessed CcLober
20 2011)


norgren !lll cbetokee coses @o looJmotk leJetol ueclsloos lo tbe llqbt fot 5ovetelqoty norman
Cklahoma unlverslLy of Cklahoma ress 2004

Schleslnger ArLhur M !r @be Aqe of Iocksoo 8osLon LlLLle 8rown Company 1943