Jackson and the Jackson and the IndiansIndians

Vs.

Indians in the Southeast

By the 1820s, only about 100,000 still lived east of the Mississippi, and most of them were in the Southeast.

Since arriving in the 1600s, white settlers had pushed Indians westward

Jackson’s Removal Policy• Jackson considered Indians to be conquered

subjects.

•According to him, Indians had two choices: adopt white culture and become citizens of the United States, or move west.

•After gold is discovered in Cherokee land in Georgia (1828), Jackson asks Congress to pass a law that could force the Indians to move west: the Indian Removal Act.

The 5 Tribes most affected by the Indian Removal Act

The Trail of Tears

•The Army then forced the Indians to march overland during the winter from Georgia to Oklahoma.

•Without adequate clothing or food, many got sick. About 4,000 died.

•This harsh journey became known as the Trail of Tears.

The Indian Territory•Treaties with the Indians forced them to move

to an area called the Indian Territory (Oklahoma, as well as parts of Kansas and

Nebraska)

•In 1838, US soldiers forced about 16,000 Cherokees into camps, with nothing but the clothes on their backs

Trails End•A common problem TODAY is the

commercialization of American Indian culture…

Exploitation much?