Today I am going to be talking about race relating to the Antebellum period. Specifically, I am going to be talking about the relocation of American Indians in 1830, which is commonly known as the Indian Removal Act of 1830. This act was signed by Andrew Jackson, and it gave the federal government the power to force the American Indians that lived east of the Mississippi, to move to the west of it. A product of this act was the Trail Of Tears, which was the journey to relocation they had to make. More than 4,000 Cherokee Indians passed away, and more than double that harshly suffered. American Indians died of cold, disease, and hunger on their way to their new home. The targeted tribes that they wanted to remove were Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Seminole, and Chickasaw Native Indians. The American Indian's weren't allowed to gather their belongings before they left, and it resulted in whites raiding their homes and stealing their items. It is pitiful how unfair, racist, and morally incorrect the Indian Removal Act was. But the Act was urged by Jackson because when he was in the military he had fought and won against the Creek Indians, making him hate the race. It tremendously helped the white farmer community because it gave them more opportunity and land to grow crops on; for example, cotton and fruit. In 1828, there was a large amount of gold discovered in Georgia, to my belief, this discovery was probably a motivator for removing the American Indians as quickly as possible, so that the greedy white population could attack and conquer those new opportunities for money. The Removal Act permanently damaged the Indian population in the United States. We will always remember the Trail of Tears as a harsh, racist act of destruction, and I believe nothing in American history will ever resemble this horror again.
I found the following information on this link.Best Regards,
Brooke van den Berg
