Andrew Jackson’s Speech to Congress on Indian Removal was given at a time of westward expansion, which was greatly influenced by the idea of Manifest destiny (Bentley 695). Manifest destiny also greatly influenced the national sentiment of the time, which can be found in Jackson’s speech. Jackson uses nationalist and colonialist rhetoric in this speech, particularly when he discusses his idea of progress. At the time of this speech, nationalism and colonialism greatly impacted both racial and economic policies in the United States, and the preceding Indian Removal Act of 1830 was also reflective of both the United States’ racial and economic policies, and greatly impacted the racial makeup and economy of the country for the rest of the nineteenth century and beyond.
The Indian Removal Act of 1830 was a law passed with the intention of “[moving] all native Americans west of the Mississippi River into “Indian Territory” (Bentley 695), which is modern day Oklahoma.
In Andrew Jackson’s words, the government would “purchase his [indigenous] lands … give him [indigenous] a new and extensive territory … pay the expense of his [indigenous] removal, and support him [indigenous] a year in his new abode” (Jackson, 1). President Jackson signed and supported this bill largely due to westward expansion. Manifest destiny, or the idea that the United States was destined by God to expand its territory across the entire continent of North America, justified American expansion and migration