Was the Indian removal act justified

The Old Living Conditions of The Native Americans

Thousands of people were forced to leave behind their homes, livestock, crops, and places that had spiritual significance for them. So now the have nothing but the clothes on their backs.Living conditions while on the Trail of Tears: “Their travels were marked by outbreaks of cholera, inadequate supplies, bitter cold, and death from starvation and exhaustion.”

The Current Living Conditions of Native Americans

Native Americans that live in the countryside/poor areas have hardly any jobs, but many are starting new businesses.The percent of native-born citizens that have jobs rose from 9.2 to 9.7 percent. Native-born Americans have started to drop out of the labor force. The participation rate is falling from 65.3 percent to 64.5 percent. Education of Indian children is increasing, and some public schools are starting to respond to the special needs of Indian students. There are more Native Americans going to college; attendance reached 103,000 in 1990, and the 24 tribal colleges have increased enrollments.

The Old Living Conditions For Americans

After the Revolution, an emphasis was put on education, especially in the northern states, which rapidly established public schools. By the year 1870, all states had free elementary schools.In the country many people didn’t go to school until the 1880s.Farming was 90% of the labor force since it was dry in the west (made farming hard).

The Current Living Conditions For Americans

The number of Americans without a job was 11.3 million but has gone down 522,000 people since June (34 percent of Americans don’t have jobs not including citizens 16 years old and under.) Americans have great education.

The Indian Removal ActThe Indian Removal Act allowed the U.S. government to negotiate treaties with American Indian tribes east of the Mississippi River to exchange their current lands for new territories west of the Mississippi in what is now Oklahoma. The Act technically did not require the Indians to relocate. The President was allowed to elect the land west of the Mississippi River that was not part of an existing state. Indians choosing to relocate would be returned for any improvements made on their lands and they were to be aided in their transportation. The Indian Removal Act was supposed to put an end to these conflicts.The Indian removal act was passed on May 28, 1830.

Jackson said that removal would strengthen the southwest. Clearing Alabama and Mississippi of their Indian populations would advance those states rapidly in population, wealth, and power.”Indian tribes continued to get removed even after President Jackson.The least known removals took place in 1838 two years after the journey known as the Trail of Tears because many died on the trail. Thousands of Indian people that had existed in the southeastern United States were moved west. “The first removal treaty to follow the passage of the Indian Removal Act was with the Choctaw Nation (1830).” In 1838 the Cherokee Nation was removed to reservations in what has been called “The Trail of Tears.” It is estimated that almost 8,000 Cherokee people died on the Trail of Tears.

Natives’ Opinions on Removal Act

(1830)It’s not fair for them to just come and take our land we were here first. Thousands of us died when we were leaving our homes and everything we knew behind. Today (2013) we have bad/few jobs and we have bad education. It wasn’t even legal for President Andrew Jackson to take our land from us.

Americans’ Opinions on Removal Act

(1830)Today we go new land but it wasn’t legal for the president to do that. The president has killed many innocent people just for land. It wasn’t even legal to move them from their land.

(2013) Today many Americans have jobs but about 30% of us don’t, we have good education so the Removal Act was worth it.

Was The Indian Removal Act justified?

No, based on the current living conditions of Native Americans and Americans the Indian Removal Act wasn’t justified because more Americans have jobs and the native Americans where there first and its not fair for the Americans to just kick them out. Native Americans don’t have very good education. Also President Andrew Jackson didn’t have a legal right to move the Natives off of American land, but he did it anyway. Andrew killed thousands of Native Americans just for land.

Sources

Secondary Sources:• w.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/connections/hist-am-west/

file.html• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_education_in_the_United_States• http://www.nrcprograms.org/site/PageServer?pagename=index• http://www.richmond.edu/• http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/• http://eric.ed.gov/• http://

www.csmonitor.com/Business/2010/1029/Immigrants-gaining-jobs-native-born-Americans-aren-t

• http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2013/06/07/non-working-americans-unemployed/

Primary Sources:• http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=25