jh Native Americans were the original immigrants of North America. According to the Library of Congress, when English settlers arrived in the late 1400’s, there were as many as 900,000 Indians with over 300 different languages that lived on the continent (www.loc.gov). In the beginning, there was cooperation, trade, avoidance, and an occasional conflict between the Native Americans and colonists; however, friction rose as more settlers moved to North America and the desire for Indian territories increased.
The removal of Indians from their land in North America began long before the election of Andrew Jackson in 1828; however, he sealed their fate. Since the arrival of the first colonists in the 1600’s there were two opinions towards Native Americans. Some prefered oppressing and removal while others wanted Indians to conform to white culture including: religion, language, attire, and farming. Many Indians were persuaded or tricked into moving and signing treaties giving up their land. Others chose to adopt white man’s ways, but they later discovered despite their actions all whites wanted was their land.
In the late 1700’s, the American colonies fought hard to claim their independence from Great Britain. The ideas of freedom and “all men are created equal” became important American values;
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They began to assimilate into the white man society, learning to farm, read and write. Jackson agreed that the Five Civilized Tribes (Cherokees, Creeks, Choctaws, Chickasaws, and Seminoles) had made progress on leading a civilized life, but that the Indians owned land that the whites could use more efficiently (Huntzicker). White pioneers wanted more land to farm and felt the Indians were in the way of progress. Andrew Jackson believed the land west of the Mississippi would be better suited for the Indians and would decrease their interactions with the white