Jackson's Empty Promises

Jackson's Empty Promises Cori Gonzales Luara Guardino Hist 1 16 December 2010 According to Andrew Jackson's State of the Union speech from December 30, 1830, there was in his mind a , “ Happy consummation,” with the Indian people and the White settlements. Jackson proceeded to declare in his speech that the Indian race would be saved, if they relocated, and that the American government would pay for their move and support them for a year even after relocating. “How many thousands of our own people would gladly embrace the opportunity of removing to the West on such conditions!” Jackson wrote in his speech. (carleton.ca) However, although Jackson portrayed some paternalistic tendencies towards the Indians, he proved to be relentless in battle against them, was the key instrument in Indian Removal, and the Indians, despite Jackson's alluring sales pitch, ended up suffering tragically. According to Jackson, many white settlers, and various states, this is what needed to happen in order for American to grow and be civilized. In this paper I will discuss Jackson's proposals and reasoning for Indian removal, what the Indians went through while being removed, and how it affected them in the long run. Even though Jackson was known to have be-friended many Indians, and even adopted a small Indian boy that he raised, he pushed for Indian Removal and believed it was the best solution for Indians and White settlers.(Native Americans 281) Jackson, who was looked at as a hero, because of the battle against the British, was certain that the White people and the Indians would just never be able to live together. Jackson believed that that his job was to provide safe settlement, and that there was only one way to do that, get rid of the Indians. The Eastern Indians called Jackson, “ Sharp Knife, “ or “ The Great Devil.” Jackson was a fearsome man, who let nothing stop him, and he was respected by many. It seemed as if Jackson was invincible when it came to battling the Indians. (Hist Chan). There had been many bloody battles between the Indians and the settlers, in which Jackson proceeded to annihilate the Natives. According to the documentary, “Andrew Jackson,” (History channel) the Red stick Indians, otherwise known as the Creeks, massacred a settlement of Whites at Fort Sims on August 30, 1813. They went as far as killing children and crushing babies skulls, and ended up brutally killing around 400 White people. When the American government heard of this news, they called none other but Andrew Jackson. Andrew Jackson and his troops fought the Red stick Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend and and wiped them out swiftly. Jackson's men suffered only a few casualties. However, the Indians could not say the same, and one of Jackson's soldiers found a crying baby laying in the arms of his dead mother. This child would grow up to be Jackson's adopted son. ( Hist Chan) This battle resulted in Jackson drawing up the Treaty of Fort Jackson in 1814.(US History.com) This treaty demanded that the Indians surrender and pay for the battle themselves by giving up their land.( georgia. info) The First Seminole war followed shortly after the Creek battle. In 1817, White settlers attacked Florida Indians and the Indians were ready for revenge. They attacked rural and isolated homes in Georgia. Andrew Jackson was sent out with 3000 troops to deal with the Seminoles. Jackson and his men proved to be successful and they destroyed many Indian settlements along the way. (US History.com) Meanwhile there were Indians who were trying to establish themselves in White communities and acclimate themselves to a new culture, however, they became frustrated that many White people wanted them to abandon their culture all together. They wouldn't allow them to speak their Native language, or perform their Indian tribal dances. They were told to be silent and become new people. (Native Americans 197) One Cherokee man by the name of John Ridge did all he could to literally change into a White man. He learned English, dressed accordingly, received a law degree, and became, “civilized” according to the White population. However, on the day he was to wed, there were people rioting and screaming their obvious dislike outside his wedding venue because he was marrying a White woman. He felt disappointed, angry, and frustrated. He had done what the White people suggested, yet it made no difference.(We Shall Remain) Indian Assimilation did not seem to be working and the tensions between Whites and Indians was continuing to build up. It seemed that too much had happened and was continuing to happen between the Whites and Indians. There were many stories about Indians told by White people. Certain violent incidents involving the Indians made the Whites more discriminatory. ( Native Americans 33-38) . They had many stories of various people, friends, and even distant relatives who had been scalped and tormented by the Indians. They had accounts of battles between their people and the Indians, where the Indians seemed like savages on the battle field and truly barbaric. Indians had their own stories to share. An Indian by the name of Black Hawk, a Sauk chief, delivered a speech to a group of Sauk warriors. The speech was heard by a White prisoner who stated that Black Hawk said the following, “ From the day when the palefaces landed upon our shores, they have been robbing us of our inheritance, and slowly, but surely, driving us back, back, back, toward the setting sun, burning our villages destroying our growing crops, ravishing our wives and daughters, beating our papooses with cruel sticks, and brutally murdering our people upon the most flimsy pretenses and trivial causes......” (Native Americans 65) It seemed unlikely that the two cultures would ever have a peaceful exsistance. However, not all the Indians felt this way. In 1813, an article was written for the Niles weekly Register. Two Cherokee Indian chiefs by the names of To-Cha Lee and Chu Li-Oa wrote to the United States because they wanted to show them that their tribe was thriving. In they letter they ask for peace with the U.S., declaring that they were becoming civilized, prospering, their cattle was plenty, the woman were learning the art of using the spinning wheel, and that many people in the tribe were learning to read the English language. They write, “Many of our youth of both sexes have acquired such knowledge of letters and figures as to show to the most incredulous that our mental powers are not by nature inferior to yours-and we look forward to a period of time, when it may be said, this artist, this mathematician, this astronomer, is a Cherokee.” (Native Americans 79) Despite their pleas, Andrew Jackson wrote his First annual address to the Congress in 1829. In his address he explains to Congress how there were many Indian tribes who were being forced to spread out and that they were in fact going to become extinct if they all didn't gather themselves and agree to be removed.(synaptic.bc.ca) In his speech he genuinely seems concerned about the well-being of the Indian tribes, and that there is really no other choice but for them to relocate to a new land and life. Was Jackson truly concerned, or just an eloquent writer who knew how to appeal to the minds of the men in Congress? According to some, Jackson truly hated Indians because of certain ideals that had been passed down to him by his mother. A few of his family members had been slaughtered by Indians, and this made his mother harbor resentment and distrust toward the Native people. Many believed that he had a deep rooted hatred toward the Indian people despite his speeches and addresses.(History channel) However despite these beliefs, he seems to be genuinely concerned for the welfare of the Indian race in his Second Annual Message to Congress on December 6, 1830. Jackson states, “ Humanity has often wept over the fate of the aborigines of this country, and Philanthropy has been long busily employed in devising means to avert it, but its progress has never for a moment been arrested, and one by one have many powerful tribes disappeared from the earth...”( pbs.org) Jackson, convinced that there was no reason for the general government and the states to argue anymore over Indian affairs, believed that Indian removal would deliver power and strength to the Southwestern Frontier. Congress, upon reviewing his addresses, passed the Indian Removal Act of 1830.(carleton.ca) The Indian Removal Act of 1830 was passed at the persistent urging of Andrew Jackson, and declared that tribes of the Southeastern U.S. were to be relocated to a new home west of the Mississippi River. This Act made it possible for the very eager White settlers to take over the land occupied by , “ The Five Civilized Tribes.” Georgia, which was a very large state would prove to be especially vicious in the removal of the Indians. Although The Indian Removal Act was supposed to remove the Indians peacefully and without force, the greed of the American White Settlers, provoked by Andrew Jackson, seemed to erase that notion.(We Shall Remain) Although Congress finally passed the act in 1830, Jackson has been busy from 1814-1824 drafting up treaties with 9 out of 11 tribes. (We Shall Remain) Many of the Indians signed in hopes of keeping some of their land, or to avoid being harassed by White Americans.

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