Indian Removal Act
The
Indian Removal Act was signed into law by Andrew Jackson
on May 28, 1830, authorizing the president to grant unsettled
lands west of the Mississippi in exchange for Indian lands
within existing state borders. A few tribes went peacefully,
but many resisted the relocation policy. During the fall
and winter of 1838 and 1839, the Cherokees were forcibly
moved west by the United States government. Approximately
4,000 Cherokees died on this forced march, which became
known
as
the "Trail of Tears."
Library of
Congress Web Site | External Web
Sites | Selected
Bibliography
A
Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation
President Andrew Jackson outlined his Indian
removal policy in his Second Annual Message to Congress
on December 6, 1830. Jackson's comments on Indian removal
begin with the words, "It gives me pleasure to announce
to Congress that the benevolent policy of the Government,
steadily pursued for nearly thirty years, in relation
to the removal of the Indians beyond the white settlements
is approaching to a happy consummation. Two important
tribes have accepted the provision made for their removal
at the last session of Congress, and it is believed that
their example will induce the remaining tribes also to
seek the same obvious advantages." Additional copies
of Andrew Jackson's Second Annual Message to Congress
can be found in the House
Journal
and the Senate
Journal.
Search in
the 21st Congress using the phrase "removal of the
Indians" to locate Congressional debate on the Indian
Removal Act of 1830.
Senate Document No. 512, "Correspondence
on the Emigration of Indians, 1831-33, was published
in 1834 as part of the United
States Serial Set. Also included in the Serial
Set is the report "Indian
Land Cessions in the United States, 1784-1894."
Map
Collections: 1500-2004
Includes an 1836 map showing the lands
assigned to emigrant Indians west of Arkansas and
Missouri. Search this collection using the phrase "Indians
of North America" to locate additional maps on
this subject.
The
Nineteenth Century in Print: Periodicals
In 1830, the North American Review
published two separate articles entitled "Removal
of the Indians," one in January
1830 and one in October
1830.
American
Treasures at the Library of Congress - Cherokee Nation
Denied Foreign Nation Status
In the landmark case, The Cherokee Nation v. The State
of Georgia, the United States Supreme Court ruled in
1831 that the Cherokee Indian Nation was not a foreign
nation and therefore ruled that the Supreme Court did
not have jurisdiction. This exhibit contains Associate
Justice Smith Thompson's dissenting opinion.
Feature
Presentation - Immigration: Native Americans
Provides an overview of Native American history, including
information on the government's Indian removal policy.
October
3, 1790
John Ross, Chief of the United Cherokee Nation from
1839 to 1866, was born on October 3, 1790.
Cherokee
Removal Lesson Plan, Abraham Lincoln Historical Digitization
Project
Indian
Affairs: Laws and Treaties, Oklahoma State University
Library, Compiled and Edited by Charles J. Kappler
Indian
Removal, 1814-1858, PBS
Our
Documents, President Andrew Jackson's Message to Congress
'On Indian Removal', National Archives and Records
Administration
Satz, Ronald N. American Indian Policy
in the Jacksonian Era. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2002. [Catalog
Record]
Remini, Robert Vincent. Andrew Jackson & His Indian
Wars. New York: Viking, 2001. [Catalog
Record]
Wallace, Anthony F. C. The Long,
Bitter Trail: Andrew Jackson and the Indians. New York: Hill and Wang, 1993.
[Catalog
Record]
Nardo, Don. The Relocation of the
North American Indian.
San Diego, Calif.: KidHaven Press, 2002. [Catalog
Record]
Williams, Jeanne. Trails of Tears:
American Indians Driven from Their Lands. Dallas, Tex.: Hendrick-Long Pub. Co.,
1992. [Catalog
Record]
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