Essay On Andrew Jackson's Treatment Of Native Americans

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The treatment of Native Americans in America has been and currently is disgraceful. The unjust and brutal treatment of Native Americans has stemmed from the top down and spread throughout society, and has been consistent throughout American history. The story often told about the European forefathers coming to a pristine landscape occupied by “savages” and turning it into the great American land of industry; is one presented by the President. The story very seldom told, is that of European settlers coming to a land that was occupied and used sustainably and spreading disease and killing off almost an entire population of people that had lived peacefully on the land for thousands of years. This paper will focus on treatment of Native people during …show more content…

Jackson is known for seeking the rights of the “common man” yet, based on Jackson’s actions the common man can only be a white man as he sought to destroy Native peoples’ rights. The Jacksonian Era was particularly brutal and ruthless towards Native Americans. Within Jackson’s first year and a half in office the Indian Removal Act was created and passed by Congress in 1830. This Act authorized the President of the United States to grant unclaimed land West of the Mississippi to Native Americans in exchange for Indian land within the borders of America. The Indian Removal Act is an attempt by the American government to make Native Americans unwilling participants in their governmental rule. Native people did not consider themselves a part of this society and lived their own ways, yet the American government took steps to ensure that Native people were subject to American law, in a way that was only beneficial for white, Americans. The intention of the act was to encourage and continue Westward expansion that Native Americans were halting. So, at their expense, the Indian Removal Act was put into place and Westward expansion