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Andrew Jackson's Response To The Indian Removal

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Every President during the creation of America was concerned about the effects of Native Americans in the nation but not one was able to act upon that concern. It was not until the presidency of Jackson did action occur as a direct federal policy towards the Native Americans.
Two solutions had existed for Native Americans to survive on the same continent as the expanding America: leaving or assimilating. It was most common for Native Americans to leave their land to move out West rather than deal with Americans who would gladly take their land by force. When Andrew Jackson became the President he put forth the Indian Removal Act (1831) in order to gain the support of the people rather than provide the best aid to the Native Americans. The act removed Native Americans from any territory within the US to the designated Indian Territory, west of the Mississippi. The other choice was to assimilate into American/European customs. Many tribes had done this in order to stay on their lands but the Indian Removal Act also targeted them. Although they were being removed, one nation, the Cherokee, took to the courts to refute such actions. The government policy, which removed Native Americans from their homeland without any other actions, did not help them in court. In Cherokee v Georgia …show more content…
The land they claimed however conflicted with those of territory granted in the Indian Territory. To resolve this issue, Thomas Fitzpatrick in 1851 negotiated with the Native Americans to change their territories again to accommodate for a new passage that would connect California, experiencing a gold rush, and the East. Native Americans accepted the definition of their borders which would cut down on intertribal warfare but also allow the federal government to negotiate with each tribe separately a far more efficient way to take over territories over

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