Movement to Resettle Native Americans (College Board AP® US History)

Summary

The idea of Manifest Destiny, is the belief that it was the United States’ divine mission to expand westward. This belief gained traction in the early 19^th century. White settlers sought more land for farming and development, which was a direct threat to Indigenous territories. The federal government used legislation to force Indigenous groups from their land and ignored court rulings in favor of the Indigenous groups. Even Andrew Jackson, who, before his presidency, was a champion of the Indigenous peoples' way of life, would betray those he once supported when he was elected to public office.

Indian Removal Act of 1830

• The Indian Removal Act required all Indigenous groups to move west of the Mississippi River into what is now Oklahoma 

• Members of the Chickasaw, Choctaw, Seminole, Cherokee and Creek lost farms and valuable land

• In 1828, White settlers discovered gold on Cherokee lands in Georgia

  • The Cherokee had discovered gold in the early 1700s but left it untouched

  • Thousands of miners traveled to Georgia to try to look for the gold and become rich

• The purpose of the Indian Removal Act was to allow White settlers to move onto the land and fulfil the idea of Manifest Destiny

Worcester v Georgia (1832)

• The Supreme Court case of Worcester v Georgia arose after Georgia’s legislature:

  • voted to seize Cherokee lands in the state

  • abolish the Cherokee government

  • give that land to White people in Georgia

• The court decision favored the Cherokee and said it was a nation with distinct sovereign powers 

  • this ruling established tribal sovereignty

• The ruling did not protect the Cherokee from the Indian Removal Act

  • Georgia and President Jackson ignored the decision

The Trail of Tears

• The forced relocation of Indigenous peoples began after the 1835 Treaty of New Echota was signed

• By 1838, a forced march of over 12,000 Cherokee began

  • The march covered a network of different routes over 5,000 miles

  • The routes covered nine states: 

    • Alabama

    • Arkansas

    • Georgia

    • Illinois

    • Kentucky

    • Missouri

    • North Carolina

    • Oklahoma

    • Tennessee

  • Families were separated and given only minutes to gather their belongings

Conditions on the trail:

• During May 1838, three to five people died each day due to illness and the effects of drought 

• In November 1838, 12,000 people were forced to march west through heavy rain, ice, and blizzard conditions with very little food 

• Drinking stagnant water led to disease and death

• When people died during the journey, they were buried along the trail

• Causes of death included: 

  • exposure to extreme weather

  • hunger

  • diseases

  • exhaustion 

• Experts estimate that 4,000 Cherokee died along the way, nearly 20% of the population

• Thousands of people from other Indigenous groups died as well

• The journey was especially deadly for infants, children, and older people