Indian Policy and Trail of Tears

The “Trail of Tears” was the forcible relocation and movement of Native Americans, including many members of the Cherokee, Muscogee (Creek), Seminole, and Choctaw nations among others in the United States, from their homelands to Indian Territory (Present day Oklahoma) in the Western United States.

Indian Removal Policy

In 1831, the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee-Crek, and Seminole (sometimes collectively referred to as the Five Civilized Tribes) were living as autonomous nations in what would be called the American Deep South. The process of cultural transformation (proposed by George Washington and Henry Knox) was gaining momentum, especially among the Cherokee and Choctaw. Andrew Jackson continued the removal of the Native Americans with the passage of the Indian Removal Act of 1830. In 1831, the Choctaw were the first to be removed, and they became the model for all other removals. Seminoles were removed in 1832, the Creek in 1834, then the Chickasaw in 1837, and finally the Cherokee in 1838

Choctaw Nation

The Choctaw nation was in what are now the U.S. states of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. After a series of treaties starting in 1801, the Choctaw nation was reduced to 11,000,000 acres (45,000 km). The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek ceded the remaining country to the United States and was ratified in early 1831. The removals were only agreed to after a provision in the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek allowed some Choctaw to remain. Secretary of War Lewis Cass appointed George Gaines to manage the removals. Gaines decided to remove Choctaws in three phases starting in 1831 and ending in 1833. The first was to begin on November 1, 1831 with groups meeting at Memphis and Vicksburg. A harsh winter would batter the emigrants with flash floods, sleet, and snow. Initially the Choctaws were to be transported by wagon but floods halted them. With food running out, the residents of Vicksburg and Memphis were concerned. Five steamboats (the Walter Scott, the Brandywine, the Reindeer, the Talma, and the Cleopatra) would ferry Choctaws to their river-based destinations. The Memphis group traveled up the Arkansas for about 60 miles (97 km) to Arkansas Post. There the temperature stayed below freezing for almost a week with the rivers clogged with ice, so there would be no travel for weeks. Food rationing consisted of a handful of boiled corn, one turnip, and two cups of heated water per day. Forty government wagons were sent to Arkansas Post to transport them to Little Rock. When they reached Little Rock, Choctaw chief (thought to be Thomas Harkins or Nitikechi) quoted to the Arkansas Gazette that the removal was a "trail of tears and death."[6] The Vicksburg group was led by an incompetent guide and was lost in the Lake Providence swamps. Nearly 17,000 Choctaws made the move to what would be called Indian Territory and then later Oklahoma.[8] About 2,500–6,000 died along the trail of tears. Approximately 5,000–6,000 Choctaws remained in Mississippi in 1831 after the initial removal efforts.[9][10] The Choctaws who chose to remain in newly formed Mississippi were subject to legal conflict, harassment, and intimidation. The Choctaws "have had our habitations torn down and burned, our fences destroyed, cattle turned into our fields and we ourselves have been scourged, manacled, fettered and otherwise personally abused, until by such treatment some of our best men have died."[10] The Choctaws in Mississippi were later reformed as the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and the removed Choctaws became the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.

Siminoles Indians

The US acquired Florida from Spain via the Adams-Onís Treaty and took possession in 1821. In 1832 the Seminoles were called to a meeting at Payne's Landing on the Ocklawaha River. The treaty negotiated called for the Seminoles to move west, if the land were found to be suitable. They were to be settled on the Creek reservation and become part of the Creek tribe, who considered them deserters; some of the Seminoles had been derived from Creek bands but also from other tribes. Those among the tribe who had sprang from Creek bands did not wish to move west to where they were certain that they would meet death for leaving the main band of Creek Indians. The delegation of seven chiefs who were to inspect the new reservation did not leave Florida until October 1832. After touring the area for several months and conferring with the Creeks who had already settled there, the seven chiefs signed a statement on March 28, 1833 that the new land was acceptable. Upon their return to Florida, however, most of the chiefs renounced the statement, claiming that they had not signed it, or that they had been forced to sign it, and in any case, that they did not have the power to decide for all the tribes and bands that resided on the reservation. The villages in the area of the Apalachicola River were more easily persuaded, however, and went west in 1834.[11] On December 28, 1835 a group of Seminoles and blacks ambushed a U.S. Army company marching from Fort Brooke in Tampa to Fort King in Ocala. Out of 110 army troops only 3 survived, this came to be known as the Dade Massacre.

Seminole warrior Tuko-see-mathla, 1834

Creek Indians
After the War of 1812, some Muscogee leaders such as William McIntosh signed treaties that ceded more land to Georgia. The 1814 signing of the Treaty of Fort Jackson signaled the end for the Creek Nation and for all Indians in the South.[16] Friendly Creek leaders, like Selocta and Big Warrior, addressed Sharp Knife (the Indian nickname for Andrew Jackson) and reminded him that they keep the peace. Nevertheless, Jackson retorted that they did not "cut (Tecumseh's) throat" when they had the chance, so they must now cede Creek lands. Jackson also ignored Article 9 of the Treaty of Ghent that restored sovereignty to Indians and their nations. Eventually, the Creek Confederacy enacted a law that made further land cessions a capital offense. Nevertheless, on February 12, 1825, McIntosh and other chiefs signed the Treaty of Indian Springs, which gave up most of the remaining Creek lands in Georgia.[19] After the U.S. Senate ratified the treaty, McIntosh was assassinated on May 13, 1825, by Creeks led by Menawa.
The Creek National Council, led by Opothle Yohola, protested to the United States that the Treaty of Indian Springs was fraudulent. President John Quincy Adams was sympathetic, and eventually the treaty was nullified in a new agreement, the Treaty of Washington (1826).[20] Writes historian R. Douglas Hurt: "The Creeks had accomplished what no Indian nation had ever done or would do again — achieve the annulment of a ratified treaty."[21] However, Governor Troup of Georgia ignored the new treaty and began to forcibly remove the Indians under the terms of the earlier treaty. At first, President Adams attempted to intervene with federal troops, but Troup called out the militia, and Adams, fearful of a civil war, conceded. As he explained to his intimates, "The Indians are not worth going to war over."
Although the Creeks had been forced from Georgia, with many Lower Creeks moving to the Indian Territory, there were still about 20,000 Upper Creeks living in Alabama. However, the state moved to abolish tribal governments and extend state laws over the Creeks. Opothle Yohola appealed to the administration of President Andrew Jackson for protection from Alabama; when none was forthcoming, the Treaty of Cusseta was signed on March 24, 1832, which divided up Creek lands into individual allotments.[22] Creeks could either sell their allotments and received funds to remove to the west, or stay in Alabama and submit to state laws. Land speculators and squatters began to defraud Creeks out of their allotments, and violence broke out, leading to the so-called "Creek War of 1836". Secretary of War Lewis Cass dispatched General Winfield Scott to end the violence by forcibly removing the Creeks to the Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River.

Cherokee Indians
In 1838, the Cherokee Nation was removed from their lands in the Southeastern United States to the Indian Territory (present day Oklahoma) in the Western United States, which resulted in the deaths of approximately 4,000 Cherokees.[23] In the Cherokee language, the event is called Nunna daul Isunyi—“the Trail Where They Cried”. The Cherokee Trail of Tears resulted from the enforcement of the Treaty of New Echota, an agreement signed under the provisions of the Indian Removal Act of 1830 which exchanged Native American land in the East for lands west of the Mississippi River, but which was never accepted by the elected tribal leadership or a majority of the Cherokee people.
Tensions between Georgia and the Cherokee Nation were brought to a crisis by the discovery of gold near Dahlonega, Georgia, in 1829, resulting in the Georgia Gold Rush, the first gold rush in U.S. history. Hopeful gold speculators began trespassing on Cherokee lands, and pressure began to mount on the Georgia government to fulfill the promises of the Compact of 1802.
When Georgia moved to extend state laws over Cherokee tribal lands in 1830, the matter went to the U.S. Supreme Court. In Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1831), the Marshall court ruled that the Cherokees were not a sovereign and independent nation, and therefore refused to hear the case. However, in Worcester v. State of Georgia (1832), the Court ruled that Georgia could not impose laws in Cherokee territory, since only the national government — not state governments — had authority in Indian affairs. In the winter of 1838 the Cherokee began the thousand mile march with scant clothing and most on foot without shoes or moccasins. The march began in Red Clay, Tennessee, the location of the last Eastern capital of the Cherokee Nation. The Cherokee were given used blankets from a hospital in Tennessee where an epidemic of small pox had broken out. Because of the diseases, the Indians were not allowed to go into any towns or villages along the way; many times this meant traveling much farther to go around them.[29] After crossing Tennessee and Kentucky, they arrived in Southern Illinois at Golconda about the 3rd of December, 1838. Here the starving Indians were charged a dollar a head to cross the river on "Berry's Ferry" which typically charged twelve cents. They were not allowed passage until the ferry had serviced all others wishing to cross and were forced to take shelter under "Mantle Rock," a shelter bluff on the Kentucky side, until "Berry had nothing better to do". Many died huddled together at Mantle Rock waiting to cross. Several Cherokee were murdered by locals. The killers filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Government through the courthouse in Vienna, suing the government for $35 a head to bury the murdered Cherokee.[29]
On December 26, Martin Davis, Commissary Agent for Moses Daniel's detachment wrote: "There is the coldest weather in Illinois I ever experienced anywhere. The streams are all frozen over something like eight or twelve inches thick. We are compelled to cut through the ice to get water for ourselves and animals. It snows here every two or three days at the fartherest. We are now camped in Mississippi swamp four miles from the river, and there is no possible chance of crossing the river for the numerous quantity of ice that comes floating down the river every day. We have only traveled sixty-five miles on the last month, including the time spent at this place, which has been about three weeks. It is unknown when we shall cross the river...."[30]

 

Lillian Gross, a young multiracial Cherokee. (1906)

Removed Cherokees initially settled near Tahlequah, Oklahoma. When signing the Treaty of New Echota Major Ridge had said "I have signed my death warrant." Now the resulting political turmoil led to the executions[31][32] of Major Ridge, John Ridge, and Elias Boudinot; of the leaders of the Treaty Party, only Stand Watie escaped death.[33] The population of the Cherokee Nation eventually rebounded, and today the Cherokees are the largest American Indian group in the United States.[34]

There were some exceptions to removal. Perhaps 100 Cherokees evaded the U.S. soldiers and lived off the land in Georgia and other states. Those Cherokees who lived on private, individually owned lands (rather than communally owned tribal land) were not subject to removal. In North Carolina, about 400 Cherokees, known as the Oconaluftee Cherokee, lived on land in the Great Smoky Mountains owned by a white man named William Holland Thomas (who had been adopted by Cherokees as a boy), and were thus not subject to removal. Added to this were some 200 Cherokee from the Nantahala area allowed to stay after assisting the U.S. Army hunt down and capture the family of the old prophet Tsali (Tsali faced a firing squad). These North Carolina Cherokees became the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation. All information is an excerpt of the Wkipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Reference

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trail_of_Tears

Roark, J.L., Johnson, M.P., Cohen, P.C., Stage, S., Lawson, A., & Hartmann, S. M. (2009). The American Promise. (4th Ed.).

Minnie W.

Andrew Jackson "The Man"

Brief Bio:

Andrew Jackson lived from 1767 to 1845. He was the child of poor Scotch - Irish immigrants; he was an orphan by the age of the American Revolution in the Carolinas. Jackson got a reasonable education for his day, being able to practice law. During Andrew's early 20's he went to the territory of Tennessee, not yet a state where he did accomplish notoriety as a lawyer, average sixed plantation owner and judge. By the time he reached his 30's, he had been a part of the U.S. House of Representatives of the new state, and was elected Senator but reconciled after one year. Andrew was decided on his return from the Senate, a Superior Court Judge, where he proved competent and ostentatious. While staying on the bench, he sought and won the position of Major General of the Tennessee militia. In the war of 1812, Andrew directed - obscurtiy due to some enemies he had made- to get into action in important threatres. In between restraining many Indian tribes, he won, in New Orleans by a far the greatest American victory. Andrew Jackson, became a U.S. Major General earlier in the war- vastly dissimilar from a state militia General. Even though, Jackson was orphaned as a teen and birthed no childern, be did have a family. His marriage to Rachel Doneslon allowed him into her large family of brothers, sisters, in- laws, nieces, and a nephew. Quite a lot of these childern lived for a time at "The Hermitage" and one nephew, a son of Rachel's brother Serven, was taken in as Andrew Jackson Junior. Andrew also severed as a guardian for several childern from outside the family. Some of his friends and associates, such as General John Coffee, and artist Ralph E. W. Earl married Rachel's niece. After Rachel's death, Andrew took several members of his extended family to Washington to live with him at the White House. Niece Mary Eastin had married Lucius Polk and great- niece Mary Emily Donelson was born in the White House.

Political and Religious background:
In 1796, he became the first U.S. Representative from the state of Tennessee and later the first Senator. He went back to Tennessee and served as a state Supreme Court judge from 1798 to 1804. Jackson stopped working for the court and dedicated his time to the expansion of his home, Hermitage, outside of Nashville. During the War of 1812, Jackson took authority of militia forces, but his assignment was cut off. While marching back to Tennessee, his soldiers experienced his hardness and nicknamed him “Old Hickory.” In 1814 during the Creek War, Jackson’s forces won a devastating victory at Horseshoe Bend on the Tallapoosa River. The Creeks, allies of the British, were no longer a hazard on the frontier, and Jackson was endorsed to major-general. The highlight of Jackson's military career was his victory over British forces at the Battle of New Orleans in January 1815. The British struggled for more than 2,000 casualties while the American sustained six killed and 10 wounded. This victory helped to renew the nation’s pride following the discomforting White House torching by the British and the governments disgraceful flight. Jackson came out a national hero. In 1817, Jackson was asked to pursue Seminole forces, which had been staging raids into Georgia. Without approval, he captured St. Marks and Pensacola and prearranged the executions of two British citizens, an action that would be cited repeatedly by his future critics. Jackson resigned his command and served for a short time as the governor of Florida. In 1823, Jackson was elected to the U.S. Senate and instantly regarded as a presidential possibility. In the Election of 1824, he acquired the most popular votes, but lacked an electoral majority. The House of Representatives selected his rival, John Quincy Adams. Revenge was exacted in the Election of 1828. Jackson’s victory was regarded as the Revolution of 1828, marking the rise of popular political participation. Jackson’s two terms were noteworthy for the Eaton matter, the war against the Bank of the United States, his nullification fight with John C. Calhoun, his fault by the Senate, his use of the spoils system, the issuance of the Specie Circular and the acknowledgement of Texan independence. Jackson, overwhelmed by ill health and financial woes, however remained active in Democratic politics after leaving office. He was particularly strong in his support of Martin Van Buren and later James K. Polk.
Religious Association: Presbyterian
Summation of Andrew Jackson’s Religious Views:
Jackson was raised in a Presbyterian family. However, he had little curiosity in religion early on, Jackson became progressively more religious, and eventually he became unified with the Presbyterian Church in 1838.
The outlook of his Religion & Politics:
Jackson found no contradiction between his religious views and his iron grip support for the foundation of slavery; nor did he identify any contradiction with his support for the forcible repositioning of Native Americans. Jackson believed that the Constitution required a strict separation of church and state.





http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=j000005
http://millercenter.org/academic/americanpresident/jackson/essays/biography/8
http://all-biographies.com/presidents/andrew_jackson.htm
http://andyjack.wikispaces.com/file/view/Andrew_Jackson.jpg/51261315/Andrew_Jackson.jpg
http://www.americaslibrary.gov/assets/aa/jackson/aa_jackson_subj_e.jpg
http://www.danielhaston.com/history/images/andrew-jackson.jpg

Andrew Jackson & The Bank War

 

The Federal government had to borrow huge amounts of money to finance the war of 1812. Since the First Bank of United States expired in 1811, all the federal government borrowings came from the State Banks, which had the currency printing powers without the backing of gold or silver. High levels of inflation followed the creation of new state banks and their unregulated prinking of money. In an effort to control the state banks and to create a uniform currency, Congress decided to form the second Bank of the United States in 1816. Rather than limiting expansion, the policies of the new bank only helped the state banks to grow further. This resulted in an economic boom, but in 1819 a market panic would sweep the nation.

Andrew Jackson came to the office as the seventh President in 1829. He was a democrat and had his share of republican political enemies in the Congress. Jackson believed that the Second Bank of the United States was destructive because it had too much power on the country's economy and it served the privileged elites at the expense of the poor. The bank was created to stabilize the economy but ended up doing just the opposite. Though the outward rationale for Jackson's opposition to the bank was noble, the fact that the bank financed both directly and indirectly Jackson's political opponent was a strong driving force. 

         

Although Congress had until 1836 to renew the charter of the bank (to coincide with 1832 Presidential election), Congress decided to renew the charter four years early. Republican Candidate Henry Clay, a congressman and an ardent supporter of the bank, was Jackson’s opponent in the presidential election. Nicholas Biddle, the bank President, used various tactics to support the republican candidate. Biddle misused his position for political gains, diverted bank's sources for the advantage of friends, and ran political ads against Andrew Jackson. The bank directly contributed $ 100,000 to Clay’s political campaign and indirectly controlled a mass of voters that favored him. For Jackson, the bank was a real threat both politically and constitutionally.

 

With the strong support of Clay, Congress passed a bill for the re-chartering of the bank before the 1832 elections. Jackson came to a political dilemma - Opposing the bank could cost him re-election, while supporting the bank remained a threat. Against general belief, Jackson took a bold stand to veto the bill. He justified his action for the following reasons: the bank amassed the financial power to a single institution, the bank's policies only allowed the rich to get richer, the bank exposed the US government to control by foreign powers and special interests, the bank had too much control on the members of Congress, and lastly the bank favored the northeastern states where most finance was located

Republicans tried to use Jackson's position on the bank against him in the election. However; they underestimated the public resentment and printed the copies of Jackson's veto. Distributed it all over the country in order to turn the public opinion against "King Andrew", but the public was so supportive of Jackson that he won the election in November. With the enhanced power by winning the second term, Jackson ordered to withdraw all federal funds from the bank. He had to fire two Treasury Secretaries before Jackson found a third one who carried out his directive. Without the federal funds, the lending power of the bank weakened and it finaly died in 1836 at the end of its charter.

Works Cited

Coffey, Walter. "Andrew Jackson's Bank War." http://www.suite101.com/ http://www.suite101.com/content/andrew-jacksons-bank-war-a202709

(accessed November 13, 2010)

Happy J.

Jacksonian Democracy

“During Andrew Jackson’s presidency (1829-1937), the second American party system took shape“ (Roark et al. 366). The election of 1828 was the first election where the citizens actually had a vote. Twice as many people voted in this election than in the previous year. It was the first time in history for the presidential election to be the main focus. The candidates had the opportunity to give speeches and rallies to try and gain support. This election was also the first in which “scandal and character questions reigned supreme” (Roark et al. 267). With people being able to vote, the followers of each campaign would try and make the other candidate look bad in an effort to gain support. As a result two parties were sharply defined. “Jackson swept every state in the South and West and Adams won the electoral votes of every state in the North except Pennsylvania and part of New York” (Digital History).

Democracy was developed as a way for the citizens to have a voice against the powerful elite. Democrats demanded a simple and low profile government. They opposed tariffs along with federal bank charters and internal improvement projects. Jackson wanted to try and limit the power of the elite by not giving federal support for “transportation and grants of monopolies and charters that privileged wealthy investors” (Roark et al. 369). “According to the Jacksonians, inequalities of wealth and power were the direct result of monopoly, favoritism, and special privileges, which made “the rich richer and the powerful more potent”” (Digital History). He felt that by removing all the limiting the elite then he could help share the wealth with the rest of the nation.

During his presidency he also unintentionally developed the spoils system. The previous presidents tried to have a broad faction of men in their presidential cabinet, but not Jackson. Jackson would replace “competent civil servants” with “party loyalists” (Roark et al. 369). He felt that by placing his friends and supporters in his cabinet that it was a way to “reward his party loyalist and build a stronger party organization” (Digital History).

References:

Digital History. Jacksonian Democracy. 1820-1860: The Election of 1828. Hypertext History. http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/database/article_display.cfm?HHID=637

James L. Roark, Michael P. Johnson, Patricia Cline Cohen, Sarah Stage, Alan Lawson, and Susan M. Hartmann. 2009. The American Promise: A History of the United States. Boston/New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s.

Kacey R.

Political Cartoons

Political cartoons date back as early as 1748, originally started as just pictures or “caricatures” of the political candidates. It was during Jackson’s campaign that the Political cartoons became more suggestive and became popular. Used for several reasons including incriminating inclinations about opposing candidates, taking complicated issues down to their basic message making it easier for the voters, and just as a comical entertainment tool political cartoons - they later became paramount in the political process. The most significant result of the political cartoons as they relate to Andrew Jackson was the inception of the Donkey to represent the Democratic Party. “When Andrew Jackson ran for president in 1828, his opponents tried to label him a “jackass” for his populist views and his slogan, “Let people rule.”.” (The Political Arena) Remarkably, even with these beginnings, the depiction remains to this day.

Complete Explanation:A simpler and less animated composition on the same general idea as Edward W. Clay's ".00001" (no. 1831-1). Again Jackson is seated in a collapsing chair, with the "Altar of Reform" toppling next to him, and rats scurrying at his feet. The rats are (left to right): Secretary of War John H. Eaton, Secretary of the Navy John Branch, Secretary of State Martin Van Buren, and Treasury Secretary Samuel D. Ingham. Jackson's spectacles are pushed up over his forehead, and his foot is planted firmly on the tail of the Van Buren rat. "Resignations" fill the air behind him, and a pillar marked "Public confidence in the stability of this admistration [sic]" falls to the left.

Bibliography

Grunat, Laurel, Mitchel Grunat, and Robert Goehlert. Presidential Campaigns: A Cartoon History, 1789-1976. 2008. http://www.indiana.edu/~libsalc/cartoons/index.html (accessed November 06, 2010).

HarpWeek, LLC. American Political Prints, 1766-1876. 2008. http://www.isidore-of-seville.com/viewer/viewer.html?http://loc.harpweek.com/LCPoliticalCartoons/IndexDisplayCartoonMedium.asp?SourceIndex=People&IndexText=Jackson%2C+Andrew&UniqueID=4&Year=1831luxfiathttp://loc.harpweek.com/LCPoliticalCartoons/Disk7/5w/3 (accessed November 06, 2010).

The Political Arena. http://mysite.verizon.net/vze1tvxm/thepoliticalarena/Donkey%20and%20Elephant--Political%20Animals.htm (accessed November 06, 2010).

There seem to be at least two versions of the print, not counting Clay's ".00001." The present version seems to be a close but inferior copy of the print by the same title attributed to Edward W. Clay by both Murrell and Davison. The latter has the legend "Washington 1831" printed in the lower margin. Davison quotes from an April 25 entry in John Quincy Adams'diary saying that "Two thousand copies of this print have been sold in Philadelphia this day. Ten thousand copies have been struck off, and will all be disposed of within a fortnight." It is unclear, however, whether Adams was referring to a version of "The Rats leaving a Falling House" or to Clay's ".00001" which was produced and published in Philadelphia and deposited for copyright on May 5.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/andrewjackson