Early in the 19th
century, while the rapidly-growing United States expanded into the
lower South, white settlers faced what they considered an obstacle.
This area was home to the Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Chicasaw and
Seminole nations. These Indian Nations,
in the view of the settlers and many other white Americans, were
standing in the way of progress. Eager for land to raise cotton, the
settlers pressured the federal government to acquire Indian territory.
Andrew
Jackson, from Tennessee, was a forceful proponent of Indian removal. In
1814 he commanded the U.S. military forces that defeated a faction of
the Creek nation. In their defeat, the Creeks lost 22 million acres of
land in southern Georgia and central Alabama. The U.S. acquired more
land in 1818 when, spurred in part by the motivation to punish the
Seminoles for their practice of harboring fugitive slaves, Jackson's
troops invaded Spanish Florida.
From 1814 to 1824, Jackson was
instrumental in negotiating nine out of eleven treaties which divested
the southern tribes of their eastern lands in exchange for lands in the
west. The tribes agreed to the treaties for strategic reasons. They
wanted to appease the government in the hopes of retaining some of
their land, and they wanted to protect themselves from white
harassment. As a result of the treaties, the United States gained
control over three-quarters of Alabama and Florida, as well as parts of
Georgia, Tennessee, Mississippi, Kentucky and North Carolina. This was
a period of voluntary Indian migration, however, and only a small
number of Creeks, Cherokee and Choctaws actually moved to the new lands.
In
1823 the Supreme Court handed down a decision which stated that Indians
could occupy lands within the United States, but could not hold title
to those lands. This was because their "right of occupancy" was
subordinate to the United States' "right of discovery." In response to
the great threat this posed, the Creeks, Cherokee, and Chicasaw
instituted policies of restricting land sales to the government. They
wanted to protect what remained of their land before it was too late.
Although
the five Indian nations had made earlier attempts at resistance, many
of their strategies were non-violent. One method was to adopt
Anglo-American practices such as large-scale farming, Western
education, and slave-holding. This earned the nations the designation
of the "Five Civilized Tribes." They adopted this policy of
assimilation in an attempt to coexist with settlers and ward off
hostility. But it only made whites jealous and resentful.
Other
attempts involved ceding portions of their land to the United States
with a view to retaining control over at least part of their territory,
or of the new territory they received in exchange. Some Indian nations
simply refused to leave their land -- the Creeks and the Seminoles even
waged war to protect their territory. The First Seminole War lasted
from 1817 to 1818. The Seminoles were aided by fugitive slaves who had
found protection among them and had been living with them for years.
The presence of the fugitives enraged white planters and fueled their
desire to defeat the Seminoles.
The Cherokee used legal means in
their attempt to safeguard their rights. They sought protection from
land-hungry white settlers, who continually harassed them by stealing
their livestock, burning their towns, and squatting on their land. In
1827 the Cherokee adopted a written constitution declaring themselves
to be a sovereign nation. They based this on United States policy; in
former treaties, Indian nations had been declared sovereign so they
would be legally capable of ceding their lands. Now the Cherokee hoped
to use this status to their advantage. The state of Georgia, however,
did not recognize their sovereign status, but saw them as tenants
living on state land. The Cherokee took their case to the Supreme
Court, which ruled against them.
The Cherokee went to the
Supreme Court again in 1831. This time they based their appeal on an
1830 Georgia law which prohibited whites from living on Indian
territory after March 31, 1831, without a license from the state. The
state legislature had written this law to justify removing white
missionaries who were helping the Indians resist removal. The court
this time decided in favor of the Cherokee. It stated that the Cherokee
had the right to self-government, and declared Georgia's extension of
state law over them to be unconstitutional. The state of Georgia
refused to abide by the Court decision, however, and President Jackson
refused to enforce the law.
In 1830, just a year after taking
office, Jackson pushed a new piece of legislation called the "Indian
Removal Act" through both houses of Congress. It gave the president
power to negotiate removal treaties with Indian tribes living east of
the Mississippi. Under these treaties, the Indians were to give up
their lands east of the Mississippi in exchange for lands to the west.
Those wishing to remain in the east would become citizens of their home
state. This act affected not only the southeastern nations, but many
others further north. The removal was supposed to be voluntary and
peaceful, and it was that way for the tribes that agreed to the
conditions. But the southeastern nations resisted, and Jackson forced
them to leave.
Jackson's attitude toward Native Americans
was paternalistic and patronizing -- he described them as children in
need of guidance. and believed the removal policy was beneficial to the
Indians. Most white Americans thought that the United States would
never extend beyond the Mississippi. Removal would save Indian people
from the depredations of whites, and would resettle them in an area
where they could govern themselves in peace. But some Americans saw
this as an excuse for a brutal and inhumane course of action, and
protested loudly against removal.
Their protests did not save
the southeastern nations from removal, however. The Choctaws were the
first to sign a removal treaty, which they did in September of 1830.
Some chose to stay in Mississippi under the terms of the Removal Act..
But though the War Department made some attempts to protect those who
stayed, it was no match for the land-hungry whites who squatted on
Choctaw territory or cheated them out of their holdings. Soon most of
the remaining Choctaws, weary of mistreatment, sold their land and
moved west.
For the next 28 years, the United States government
struggled to force relocation of the southeastern nations. A small
group of Seminoles was coerced into signing a removal treaty in 1833,
but the majority of the tribe declared the treaty illegitimate and
refused to leave. The resulting struggle was the Second Seminole War,
which lasted from 1835 to 1842. As in the first war, fugitive slaves
fought beside the Seminoles who had taken them in. Thousands of lives
were lost in the war, which cost the Jackson administration
approximately 40 to 60 million dollars -- ten times the amount it had
allotted for Indian removal. In the end, most of the Seminoles moved to
the new territory. The few who remained had to defend themselves in the
Third Seminole War (1855-58), when the U.S. military attempted to drive
them out. Finally, the United States paid the remaining Seminoles to
move west.
The Creeks also refused to emigrate. They signed a
treaty in March, 1832, which opened a large portion of their Alabama
land to white settlement, but guaranteed them protected ownership of
the remaining portion, which was divided among the leading families.
The government did not protect them from speculators, however, who
quickly cheated them out of their lands. By 1835 the destitute Creeks
began stealing livestock and crops from white settlers. Some eventually
committed arson and murder in retaliation for their brutal treatment.
In 1836 the Secretary of War ordered the removal of the Creeks as a
military necessity. By 1837, approximately 15,000 Creeks had migrated
west. They had never signed a removal treaty.
The Chickasaws had
seen removal as inevitable, and had not resisted. They signed a treaty
in 1832 which stated that the federal government would provide them
with suitable western land and would protect them until they moved. But
once again, the onslaught of white settlers proved too much for the War
Department, and it backed down on its promise. The Chickasaws were
forced to pay the Choctaws for the right to live on part of their
western allotment. They migrated there in the winter of 1837-38.
The
Cherokee, on the other hand, were tricked with an illegitimate treaty.
In 1833, a small faction agreed to sign a removal agreement: the Treaty
of New Echota. The leaders of this group were not the recognized
leaders of the Cherokee nation, and over 15,000 Cherokees -- led by
Chief John Ross -- signed a petition in protest. The Supreme Court
ignored their demands and ratified the treaty in 1836. The Cherokee
were given two years to migrate voluntarily, at the end of which time
they would be forcibly removed. By 1838 only 2,000 had migrated; 16,000
remained on their land. The U.S. government sent in 7,000 troops, who
forced the Cherokees into stockades at bayonet point. They were not
allowed time to gather their belongings, and as they left, whites
looted their homes. Then began the march known as the Trail of Tears,
in which 4,000 Cherokee people died of cold, hunger, and disease on
their way to the western lands.
By 1837, the Jackson
administration had removed 46,000 Native American people from their
land east of the Mississippi, and had secured treaties which led to the
removal of a slightly larger number. Most members of the five
southeastern nations had been relocated west, opening 25 million acres
of land to white settlement and to slavery.
The Removal Act
28 May 1830
An Act to provide for an exchange of
lands with the Indians residing in any of the states or territories,
and for their removal west of the river Mississippi.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That
it shall and may be lawful for the President of the United States to
cause so much of any territory belonging to the United States, west of
the river Mississippi, not included in any state or organized
territory, and to which the Indian title has been extinguished, as he
may judge necessary, to be divided into a suitable number of districts,
for the reception of such tribes or nations of Indians as may choose to
exchange the lands where they now reside, and remove there; and to
cause each of said districts to be so described by natural or
artificial marks, as to be easily distinguished from every other.
And be it further enacted, That
it shall and may be lawful for the President to exchange any or all of
such districts, so to be laid off and described, with any tribe or
nation of Indians now residing within the limits of any of the states
or territories, and with which the United States have existing
treaties, for the whole or any part or portion of the territory claimed
and occupied by such tribe or nation, within the bounds of any one or
more of the states or territories, where the land claimed and occupied
by the Indians, is owned by the United States, or the United States are
bound to the state within which it lies to extinguish the Indian claim
thereto.
And be it further enacted, That
in the making of any such exchange or exchanges, it shall and may be
lawful for the President solemnly to assure the tribe or nation with
which the exchange is made, that the United States will forever secure
and guaranty to them, and their heirs or successors, the country so
exchanged with them; and if they prefer it, that the United States will
cause a patent or grant to be made and executed to them for the same: Provided always, That such lands shall revert to the United States, if the Indians become extinct, or abandon the same.
And be it further enacted, That
if, upon any of the lands now occupied by the Indians, and to be
exchanged for, there should be such improvements as add value to the
land claimed by any individual or individuals of such tribes or
nations, it shall and may be lawful for the President to cause such
value to be ascertained by appraisement or otherwise, and to cause such
ascertained value to be paid to the person or persons rightfully
claiming such improvements. And upon the payment of such valuation, the
improvements so valued and paid for, shall pass to the United States,
and possession shall not afterwards be permitted to any of the same
tribe.
And be it further enacted, That
upon the making of any such exchange as is contemplated by this act, it
shall and may be lawful for the President to cause such aid and
assistance to be furnished to the emigrants as may be necessary and
proper to enable them to remove to, and settle in, the country for
which they may have exchanged; and also, to give them such aid and
assistance as may be necessary for their support and subsistence for
the first year after their removal.
And be it further enacted, That
it shall and may be lawful for the President to cause such tribe or
nation to be protected, at their new residence, against all
interruption or disturbance from any other tribe or nation of Indians,
or from any other person or persons whatever.
And be it further enacted, That
it shall and may be lawful for the President to have the same
superintendence and care over any tribe or nation in the country to
which they may remove, as contemplated by this act, that he is now
authorized to have over them at their present places of residence: Provided, That
nothing in this act contained shall be construed as authorizing or
directing the violation of any existing treaty between the United
States and any of the Indian tribes.
And be it further enacted, That
for the purpose of giving effect to the Provisions of this act, the sum
of five hundred thousand dollars is hereby appropriated, to be paid out
of any money in the treasury, not otherwise appropriated.
INTRODUCTION
On May 26, 1830, the Indian Removal
Act of 1830 was passed by the Twenty-First Congress of the United
states of America. After four months of strong debate, Andrew Jackson
signed the bill into law. Land greed was a big reason for the federal
government's position on Indian removal. This desire for Indian lands
was also abetted by the Indian hating mentality that was peculiar to
some American frontiersman.
This period of forcible
removal first started with the Cherokee Indians in the state of
Georgia. In 1802, the Georgia legislature signed a compact giving the
federal government all of her claims to western lands in exchange for
the government's pledge to extinguish all Indian titles to land within
the state. But by the mid-1820's Georgians began to doubt that the
government would withhold its part of the bargain. The Cherokee Indian
tribes had a substantial part of land in Georgia that they had had for
many generations though. They were worried about losing their land so
they forced the issue by adopting a written constitution. This document
proclaimed that the Cherokee nation had complete jurisdiction over its
own territory.
But by now Indian removal had
become entwined with the state of Georgia's rights and the Cherokee
tribes had to make their claims in court. When the Cherokee nation
sought aid from newly elected president Andrew Jackson, he informed
them that he would not interfere with the lawful prerogatives of the
state of Georgia. Jackson saw the solution of the problem with the
removal of the Cherokee tribes to lands west. This would keep contact
between Indians and colonists rare. He suggested that laws be past so
that the Indians would have to move west of the Mississippi river.
Similar incidents happened between
the other "civilized" tribes and white men. The Seminole tribe had land
disputes with the state of Florida. The Creek Indians fought many
battles against the federal army so they could keep their land in the
states of Alabama and Georgia. The Chickasaw and Choctaw had disputes
with the state of Mississippi. To ensure peace the government forced
these five tribes called the Five Civilized Tribes to move out of their
lands that they had lived on for generations and to move to land given
to them in parts of Oklahoma. Andrew Jackson was quoted as saying that
this was a way of protecting them and allowing them time to adjust to
the white culture. This land in Oklahoma was thinly settled and was
thought to have little value. Within 10 years of the Indian Removal Act
more than 70,000 Indians had moved across the Mississippi. Many Indians
died on this journey.
"The Trails of Tears"
The term "Trails of Tears" was
given to the period of ten years in which over 70,000 Indians had to
give up their homes and move to certain areas assigned to tribes in
Oklahoma. The tribes were given a right to all of Oklahoma except the
Panhandle. The government promised this land to them "as long as grass
shall grow and rivers run." Unfortunately, the land that they were
given only lasted till about 1906 and then they were forced to move to
other reservations.
The Trails of Tears were several
trails that the Five civilized Tribes traveled on their way to their
new lands. Many Indians died because of famine or disease. Sometimes a
person would die because of the harsh living conditions. The tribes had
to walk all day long and get very little rest. All this was in order to
free more land for white settlers. The period of forcible removal
started when Andrew Jackson became President in 1829. At that time
there was reported to be sightings of gold in the Cherokee territory in
Georgia which caused prospectors to rush in, tearing down fences and
destroying crops. In Mississippi, the state laws were extended over
Choctaw and Chickasaw lands, and in 1930 the Indians were made citizens
which made it illegal to hold any tribal office. Also in Georgia, the
Cherokee tribes were forbade to hold any type of tribal legislature
except to ratify land cessions, and the citizens of Georgia were
invited to rob and plunder the tribes in their are by making it illegal
for an Indian to bring suit against a white man.
When President Jackson began to
negotiate with the Indians, he gave them a guarantee of perpetual
autonomy in the West as the strongest incentive to emigration.
The Five tribes gave all of their
Eastern lands to the United States and agreed to migrate beyond the
Mississippi by the end of the 1830's. The Federal agents accomplished
this by bribery, trickery, and intimidation. All of the treaties signed
by the Indians as the agreed to the terms of the removal contained
guarantees that the Indians, territory should be perpetual and that no
government other than their own should be erected over them without
their consent.
The land retained by the five
civilized tribes was known as the Indian Territory. The 19,525,966
acres were divided among the the five tribes. The Choctaws received
6,953,048 acres in the southeast part of Oklahoma; the Chickasaw
received over 4,707,903 acres west of the Choctaws reservation; the
Cherokees received 4,420,068 acres in the northeast; the received
3,079,095 acres southwest of the Cherokees; and the Seminoles purchased
365,852 acres which they purchased from their kin, the Creeks. The
Chickasaw and the Choctaw owned their lands jointly because they were
so closely related but the tribes still exercised jurisdiction over its
own territory though.
Besides the land that the tribes
obtained, they also received a large sum of money from the sale of its
Eastern territories. This money was a considerable part of the revenue
for the tribes and was used by their legislatures for the support of
schools and their governments. The Cherokee nation held $2,716,979.98
in the United States trust; the Choctaw nation had $975,258.91; the
Chickasaw held $1,206,695.66;the Creek had $2,275,168.00; and the
Seminole had $2,070,000.00 by the end of 1894.
After the end of the Trails of
Tears, the conversion of all tribes to Christianity had been effected
rapidly. The Seminoles and Creeks were conservative to their customs
but other tribes were receptive to any custom considered superior to
their own. The tribes found Christian teachings fitted to their own.
Mainly the modernization change began at the end of the removal.
Andrew Jackson Gave a speech on the
Indian removal in the year of 1830. He said, "It gives me great
pleasure to announce to Congress that the benevolent policy of the
government, steady pursued for nearly thirty years, in relation with
the removal of the Indians beyond the white settlements is approaching
to a happy consummation."
"The consequences of a speedy will
be important to the United States, to individual states, and to the
Indians themselves. It puts an end to all possible danger of a
collision between the authorities of the general and state governments,
and of the account the Indians. It will place a dense population in
large tracts of country now occupied by a few savaged hunters. By
opening the whole territory between Tennessee on the north and
Louisiana on the south to the settlement of the whites it will
incalculably strengthen the Southwestern frontier and render the
adjacent states strong enough to repel future invasion without remote
aid."
"It will separate the Indians from
immediate contact with settlements of whites; enable them to pursue
happiness in their own way and under their own rude institutions; will
retard the progress of decay, which is lessening their numbers, and
perhaps cause them gradually, under the protection of the government
and through the influences of good counsels, to cast off their savage
habits and become an interesting, civilized, and Christian community."
FORT GIBSON
For two decades Fort Gibson was the
base of operations for the American army as they tried to keep the
peace. During the 1810's to 1830's, John C. Calhoun, James Monroe's
secretary of war, tried to relocate several Eastern tribes beyond the
area of the white settlements. Fort Gibson was brought up because it
served as barracks for the army. The relocation area for the Eastern
tribes was part of other tribes land. The other tribes wanted to
protect it so they fought for it.
The soldiers from Fort Gibson began
to make boundaries, construct roads, and escort delegates to the
region. The soldiers also started to implement the removal process in
other ways to. The soldiers of Fort Gibson were fiercely hated by the
Indian tribes of that region. Yet during the many years of the Indian
removal, there was never a clash between the soldiers or the tribes. An
Indian was never killed by the Army. The soldiers at Fort Gibson served
as a cultural buffer between the whites and the Indians.
The Fort was established in the
1820's by General Matthew Arbuckle. He served and commanded it through
most of it's two decades during the Indian removal. He wrote his last
report from it on June 21, 1841.
THE CHEROKEE INDIANS
The Cherokee Indians live in many
parts of the United states, but more than 100,000 live in parts of
Oklahoma. Many Cherokee have moved elsewhere. In the 1800's, the
Cherokee Nation was one of the strongest Indian tribes in the United
States. They were part of the Five Civilized Tribes.
The Cherokee Nation began to adopt
the economic and political structure of the white settlers in the early
1800's. They owned large plantations and some even kept slaves. The
Cherokee Nation was a form of republican government. A Cherokee Indian
named Sequoya introduced a system of writing for the Cherokee language
in 1821 also.
White settlers began to protest the
Cherokee's right to own land in the early 1800'. They demanded that the
Cherokee Nation be moved west of the Mississippi to make room for white
settlers. Some members of the Cherokee Nation signed treaties with the
government in 1835 agreeing to move to designated areas in Oklahoma.
Most of the tribe did not want to be relocated so they opposed the
treaty. But most of the Cherokees, led by Chief John Ross, were forced
to move to the Indian Territory in the winter of 1838-1839. More than
17,000 Cherokees marched from their homes to Oklahoma. This march was
called the Trail of Tears. Many Indians died on this journey. Even
though most of the Cherokee nation had
been forced to move, more than a
1,000 Cherokee escaped and remained in the Great Smoky Mountains, which
is in parts of Tennessee and North Carolina. These tribes became known
as the Eastern Band of Cherokee.
The Cherokee who went west reformed
the political system that they had before. The Cherokee Nation set up
schools and churches. But all this progress was stopped in the late
1800's. Congress voted to abolish the Cherokee Nation to open yet more
land for settlement by whites. Today most of the Cherokee remain in
northeastern Oklahoma, where they have reestablished their form of
government. In compensation for the Removals, the official language stipulated, 'claims for
improvements is deducted from the money paid to the Cherokee'. Therefore, the
United States did not pay for the Cherokee removal, the Cherokee paid for it themselves.
CHICKISAW INDIANS
The Chickasaw Indians were a tribe
that lived in the southern United States. Their land included western
Tennessee and Kentucky, northwestern Alabama, and northern Mississippi
before the Indian removal. They were relocated to Oklahoma by the
government in the 1830's.
The Chickasaw lived in several
small villages with one- room log cabins. The people supported each
other by trading with other tribes, fishing, farming, and hunting. Each
village was headed by a chief.
The Chickasaw Indians were known as
fierce warriors. They fought for Great Britain when they fought France
and Spain for control of the southern United States. They also helped
them fight against the colonists in the Revolutionary War (1775-1783).
And During the Civil War, the tribe fought for the Confederacy
(1861-1865).
The tribe was relocated to the
Indian Territory in 1837 by the National Government. They also took
part in the Trail of Tears. In 1907, the Chickasaw Indian territory
became part of the new state of Oklahoma. About 5,300 Chickasaw
descendants live in Oklahoma. They have a Democratic government in
which they elect their leaders for the welfare of the tribe.
CHOCTAW INDIANS
The Choctaw tribe originates from
Alabama and Mississippi. They believed in the primitive ways and hunted
and farmed to support themselves. They raised corn and other crops to
trade with other Indians. They celebrate their crops with their chief
religious ceremony which is a harvest celebration called the Green Corn
Dance. One of their legends states that the Choctaw Indian tribe was
created at a sacred mount called Nanih Waiya, near Noxapater,
Mississippi.
After the Indian Removal Act was
passed, the Choctaw Indians were forced to move west in order to make
room for more white settlers. They were forced to sign the Treaty of
Dancing Rabbit Creek after fierce fighting with the United States army.
This treaty exchanged the Indians land for the assigned Indian
Territory in what is now Oklahoma. In the early 1830's, over 14,000
Choctaws moved to the Indian Territory in several groups. Although many
groups of Indians were gone, over 5,000 Choctaws remained in
Mississippi.
The Choctaws who moved to the
Indian Territory established their own way of life. They modernized
themselves by establishing schools and an electoral form of government.
In the Civil War, the Choctaw Indians fought on the side of the
Confederacy and when the south was defeated, they were forced to give
up much of their land. Their tribal governments were dissolved by 1907,
when Oklahoma became a state. It stayed that way until 1970 when they
were recognized by congress and allowed to elect their own chief.
Today, many Choctaw are farmers. About 11,000 still live in Oklahoma
and nearly 4,000 still live in Mississippi as a separate tribe.
CREEK INDIANS
The Creek Indians a part of a 19
tribal group that once resided in much of what is now Alabama and
Georgia. Today, many of the 20,000 Creek Indians live in Oklahoma. The
Muskogee and the Alabama are the largest Creek tribes. Most of them
live north of the other Creek tribes. They are called the Upper Creeks.
The lower Creek tribes belong to either Yuchi or Hitichi tribes.
In the 1800's, the Creeks fought
wars with people trying to settle on their lands. They fought in the
first and second Creek Wars. They were great warriors who attacked with
the element of surprise. After the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, the Creeks
were forced to sign a Treaty that made them give up their land. In the
1830's, they were forced to move to the Indian Territory in what is
know Oklahoma. Very few Indians were left behind and they ones who did
leave had to leave their belongings behind. The Creeks received very
little payment for their lands.
The Creeks were forced to live in
poverty for many years. Many Creeks are still very poor today. Some
struggled with crops and became fairly prosperous. Much of the land
given to them was not of much value. Also in 1890, a series of laws
broke up many tribal landholdings of the Creeks and they were sold to
individual Indians. After this, many Creeks were forced back into
poverty.
SEMINOLE INDIANS
The Seminole Indians are a tribe
the used to reside in Florida in the early 1800's. The Seminole
originally belonged to the Creek tribe. They broke apart from them and
moved out of Alabama and Georgia and moved into Florida in the 1700's
They became known as Seminoles because the name means runaways.
The Seminoles opposed the United
States when they came for the Seminole's land. The United acquired
Florida in 1819, and began urging them to sell their land to the
government and to move to the Indian Territory along with the other
southeastern tribes. In 1832, some of the Seminole leaders signed a
treaty and promised to relocate. The Seminole tribe split at this time.
After the Indians that agreed to move had gone the other part of the
tribe fought to keep their lands. They fled into the Florida swamps.
They started the Second Seminole war (1835). This was fought over the
remaining land that the Seminole had fled to. It lasted for seven
years. 1,500 American men died and the cost to the United States was
$20 million. The Seminole were led by Osceola until he was tricked by
General Thomas Jessup. Osceola was seized and imprisoned by Jessup
during peace talks under a flag of truce. Osceola died in 1838 when he
still in prison. After the war, many Seminoles moved west but still a
small group stayed hidden in the Florida swamps. |