THE INDIAN REMOVAL ACT

SUMMARY OF INDIAN REMOVAL ACT

• Andrew Jackson forcefully tried to remove Native Americans.
• May 28, 1830—the Indian Removal Act became a law.
• The Cherokees resisted the law the longest: they didn't move until 1835.
• The Cherokees fought in the Supreme Court and met with Jackson.
• Ultimately, the Indians lost; they were forced into Oklahoma.

JUSTIFICATIONS
1) Jackson preached that the Indians were ultimately uneducated, and this would cause violence with their white neighbors—he would not stand for this.
2) Jackson stated that the Indians had an unreliable source of revenue: they made money through agriculture, but they didn't currently have enough land to make it a reliable source of income.
3) The Cherokees and other Indian nations were not independent nations; they were "'domestic dependent nations'" (John Marshall) and we're subject to the decisions of the U.S. Government.

AMERICAN INFLUENCE ON LAND

• Americans were beginning to dominate the Indian lands.
• They wanted Indian lands to use for monetary gain.
• They tried to take Indian lands and get the Indians removed.
• The Indians didn't have enough land to do a suitable amount of agriculture.

Overall, the Indians were the biggest losers yet again; no matter how much they persisted, they were forcibly uprooted from their homeland and placed in an unfamiliar place. Even though they were considered civilized, America didn't treat them as capable human beings.