During the 1800s, America looked for more land to colonize and give to its people. The majority of this land, however, belonged to several Native American tribes. Despite these tribes were considered the most civilized tribes, the American government felt it was necessary to take away their lands. With the passing of the “Indian Removal Act” under President Andrew Jackson, millions of natives were forced onto the Trail of Tears to relocate further west from their ancestral lands. The Chickasaw and Choctaw were the first to leave. The Creek had put up some resistance with the Creek War. The Cherokees, however, were considered the most civilized, and wanted to fight for their right to remain on the land through litigation. This led to the Supreme Court case of Cherokee Nation v. State of Georgia in which John Marshall ruled that the Cherokee could not sue as a foreign nation because they were a dependent nation. They were forced to also go on the Trail of Tears on which about 4000 Cherokees perished on the journey. …show more content…
The first of the Seminole Wars started after the American government’s attempt to retrieve the black slaves who had ran away from their slaveholders in the southern states bordering Florida. Because the Jesuit missionaries and Seminoles in Florida were welcoming to the black slaves, many found refuge there. General Andrew Jackson was sent with an army of more than 3,000 soldiers to Florida to get the slaves back. After destroying several native settlements, then executing two British traders held for supposedly encouraging Seminole determination, Jackson then captured the Spanish fort and got rid of the