Andrew Jackson: Presidency and Facts

During Andrew Jackson's presidency, there was quite a bit of hate towards the Native American people. Jackson thought it was a waste of space to let the Native American people occupy vast lands that according to him white settlers could occupy more efficiently. Jackson decided to solve the Native American people's problem by removing them from the south towards the west. Most Native Americans didn't want to leave their lands. Jackson offered the Native Americans incentives for moving west but many resisted.

One of the ways the Native Americans resisted was by taking a legal route at courts. In a court case Cherokee Nation v. Georgia, William Wirt. argued Cherokee represented an independent nation and Georgian laws that were aimed at getting rid of them should have been halted, but the supreme court decided the Cherokee did not meet the requirements of a nation. In another court case Worcester v. Georgia it was finally determined that the Native American tribes counted as independent nations, however that did not stop Jackson from ignoring the outcome of this case and proceeding with his plans.

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In the end, most Indians had no choice but to submit and relocate towards the west. Jackson removed Indians to uphold his reputation, due to his racism and greed.

One of the reasons why Jackson decided to remove the Native Americans was to uphold his reputation as someone that would rid of the southern states from the Native Americans. During Jackson's presidency, the majority of Americans thought of the Native Americans as savage people and disliked them quite a bit.

Jackson fought numerous battles against the Native Americans, including the creek in 1812 and semiote in 1817, his history with the Native Americans was known to everyone. In a quote '...his reputation and popularity rested in large measure on his firm commitment to remove Indians from states in the South.'(Corbett, et al. 10.4) the authors talk about how Jackson gained vast popularity due to his hatred towards the Native Americans. Jackson stuck to his ideas on removing Native Americans all throughout his presidency because he wanted to uphold the image he set to the people who got him elected the first place.

Another reason why Jackson decided to remove the Native Americans was due to racism. During Jackson's presidency, the majority of American people had negative feelings towards the Native Americans. During Jackson's time, the popular belief was that the Native American people were savage and uncivilized. There was quite a number of tribes during Jackson's time that accustomed to the American living, many tribes already started speaking English on a daily basis, started practicing Christianity, started to farm like the white Americans and even started to own slaves.

Although the Native American people in many aspects lived like the rest of the white Americans, that did not stop the racism. An example of the racism the Native American people had to face was illustrated by a part of Jackson's second annual message to Congress on December 6, 1830, where he says 'And is it supposed that the wandering savage has a stronger attachment to his home than the settled, civilized Christian?'(Jackson, Andrew.). In this quote, Jackson claims the Native American people are savages compared to the American Christian people. All the previous points mentioned prove that Jackson's removal of the Native American people was partly based on racism.

The last reason why Jackson decided to remove the Native American people was due to greed. During Jackson's time, the majority of living in the south was made by an agrarian lifestyle. The Native Americans had very fertile lands they could grow crops on. Some of the lands occupied by the Native Americans had also been found out to have gold, which made some white Americans jealous. Jackson wanted to improve the country's economy by settling the white Americans on the Native American people's lands. In Jackson's second annual message to Congress on December 6, 1830, he says 'It will place a dense and civilized population in large tracts of country now occupied by a few savage hunters.'(Jackson, Andrew.). In this quote, Jackson expresses his plans for the land occupied by the Native American people.

In conclusion, Jackson decided to remove the Native American People in order to save his popularity, due to his prejudices towards the Native Americans and his greed for land. All the series of events mentioned previously had caused numerous disastrous outcomes. One of the most tragic events caused by Jackson's actions was the forceful removal of the Cherokee people, in the quote 'This forced migration, known as the Trail of Tears, caused the deaths of as many as four thousand Cherokee'(Corbett, et al. 10.4) the authors explain the outcome of forcing the Cherokee out of their lands and how many deaths Jackson's decisions caused.