The Most Controversial Aspect of Jackson's Presidency
The Trail of Tears
Jackson's views on Native Americans and as to whether or not they should be removed in the one of the most controversial policies of his presidency. His policies are, as seen by historians, essentially the ethnic cleansing of several Indian tribes. Jackson's proposed Indian Removal Act would focus on the removal of the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Cherokee, Creek, and Seminole nations from the Southeast. The act authorized the president of the United States to facilitate the exchange of Native American lands anywhere in the East for lands west of the Mississippi River. The Indian Removal Act was enacted by federal legislation on May 28, 1830. The Cherokee appealed this Act in the Supreme Court, and although they won and the Act was deemed unconstitutional, Jackson famously ignored Chief Justice Marshall's ruling. This act, however, passed because of pressure from whites, marked the beginning of vigorous era of government-sponsored removal.
The Trail of Tears
During the winter of 1838-1839, the Cherokee tribe was forcibly evicted from their homeland in northwestern Georgia, where they had lived for generation after generation. They suffered through a 800 mile march to their new home in present day Oklahoma. Of 17,000 who had begun the march, by the end, 4,000 had died from starvation, disease, and exposure. The Trail of Tears gets its name from the Cherokee survivors who called the march Nuna-da-ut-sun'y,which translates to "Trails Where They Cried" or the Trail of Tears.
Of the Five Civilized Tribes, the Cherokees were the most civilized. They lived in built log cabins and established themselves as hunters and farmers, with schools, newspapers, and they even developed their own written language. The Cherokee were an independent people whose territorial sovereignty became an issue to Georgia's white settles, who thought they were superior. On December 29, 1835, a small minority of Cherokee signed the Treaty of New Echota, ceding to the United States all their territory east of the Mississippi in return for $5 million and homelands in the Indian territory in the West. When the majority of the Cherokee tribe refused to leave, Georgia militiamen were sent to round up and stockade the Cherokee men, women, and children. They were held until the move to the west. Some were sent by steamboat or railroad cars during the summer of 1838, however, the majority trekked westward, under American military escort, between October 1838 and March 1839. Exiled and forced to march over rivers through the states of Tennessee, Kentucky, southern Illinois, Missouri, and Arkansas, they were plagued by food shortages and robberies. This is what came to be called the Trail of Tears, with good reason.
Of the Five Civilized Tribes, the Cherokees were the most civilized. They lived in built log cabins and established themselves as hunters and farmers, with schools, newspapers, and they even developed their own written language. The Cherokee were an independent people whose territorial sovereignty became an issue to Georgia's white settles, who thought they were superior. On December 29, 1835, a small minority of Cherokee signed the Treaty of New Echota, ceding to the United States all their territory east of the Mississippi in return for $5 million and homelands in the Indian territory in the West. When the majority of the Cherokee tribe refused to leave, Georgia militiamen were sent to round up and stockade the Cherokee men, women, and children. They were held until the move to the west. Some were sent by steamboat or railroad cars during the summer of 1838, however, the majority trekked westward, under American military escort, between October 1838 and March 1839. Exiled and forced to march over rivers through the states of Tennessee, Kentucky, southern Illinois, Missouri, and Arkansas, they were plagued by food shortages and robberies. This is what came to be called the Trail of Tears, with good reason.