Andrew Jackson Justification For Indian Removal Essay

Andrew Jackson's Justification for Indian Removal The threat of Indians occupying American territory had become a serious issue in the United States. When Thomas Jefferson was serving his term as president, he influenced the United States government by trying to get the Indians to become "civilized." To many Americans, "civilization" meant that the Cherokees had to learn and adapt to their lifestyle. To become '"civilized," Natives would need to dress, act, speak, think, work, and worship just as the American citizens did in their day to day life. Many of the different Indian groups refused to adapt and become "civilized" because they did not want to stray away from the traditions and customs of their tribes. However, the Cherokee tribe

They were the most accepting when it came to transforming to the "civilized" life of the white settlers. In 1830, President Jackson convinced congress to pass the Indian Removal Act, which was “A measure that allowed state officials to override federal protection of Native Americans”(). There was absolutely no justification for why Andrew Jackson removed the Cherokee Indians from their land. In his State of the Union Address, he says "it is in the best interest of the Cherokee's to remove them west because they were not civilized"(2). Ultimately, Jackson wanted the land that the Cherokee Indians called home and he used the fact that the Cherokee's weren't "civilized" as his justification for the Indian Removal. However, the Cherokee Tribe embraced the ideals of becoming like the white settlers and therefore they became a very "civilized" tribe. We see this in several different ways. The Cherokees had their own language and were literate, they had their own form of government, they adapted to farming

In the early 1820's, a Cherokee man named Sequoyah created characters for writing the language. In Jackson's letter to the Cherokee Tribes East of the Mississippi River, he states "Most of your people are uneducated, and are liable to be brought into collision at all times with their white neighbors"(1). However, we see this is not true because the Cherokee's who spoke the language, memorized the symbols of the language within a few days. In 1828, the Cherokee tribe began creation of the Cherokee Phoenix, a newspaper which included articles written in both Cherokee and English. The Phoenix was an accomplishment for the Cherokee's that proved they were moving towards "civilization" in America. Therefore, we see that many Cherokee's were educated because they did learn how to read and write. Making Jacksons's statement irrelevant to the Cherokee's. As time went on, they began to realize the importance of being able to read, write, and fluently speak the language of the white people, whom they were forced to deal with, and how this would be a huge advantage to keeping peace and keeping their land. In 1827, Cherokee David Brown stated:
Remember that the whites are near us. With them we have constant intercourse; and you must be sensible, that unless you can speak their language, read and write as they do, they will be able to cheat you and trample on your rights.(3)