Indian Removal Act of 1830

As the United States steadily grew in population during its infancy, the need for more land became an unavoidable topic. The most feasible and easiest route to solving the problem, as far as Congress could see, was simply to remove the American Indians from their land. Although numerous treaties had been signed with the Indians throughout the first years ofAmerica's existence designating some lands as off-limits, the white man, Congress, and a large part of the nation felt the need to terminate such contracts and send the Indians west. The premiere example of this sort of diplomacy is the Indian Removal Act of 1830.

On May 26, 1830, the Indian Removal Act legally allowed state and federal agencies to facilitate the removal of all Indian tribes east of the Mississippi River to various locations situated in the West. During the years preceding 1830, tribes were moved to various lands in Arkansas and Tennessee, but by 1830 this land was also coveted by white settlers pushing west. Instead, the territory of Oklahoma was designated for the Indians, without concern for their lifestyles, background, or livelihood. The act, which was signed by President Andrew Jackson almost immediately after being passed, was lobbied for heavily on behalf of the Southern states. Georgia, the state that stood to gain the most if Indian tribes vacated its land, led the charge for the removal act. The Senate passed the bill with 28 votes in favor of and 19 opposed, and the House of Representatives split even more closely, with 102 voting in favor of the bill and 97 against. Although it was named the Indian Removal Act, the actual bill did not immediately demand the vacation of tribes from the east. Instead, the president of the United States was given the power (meaning the financial means and ability) to directly negotiate with Indian tribes to obtain all lands that lay within the boundaries of an existing state. In return, lands lying to the west and not part of an existing state would be given back to the Indians.

President Jackson was a heavy proponent of this bill from its inception into Congress and did not try to hide his thoughts. He did, indeed, favor a plan to move the Indians west, but for reasons concerning both national security and for the security of the Indians themselves. According to Jackson's own personal writings, he felt that Indians would be targets of jealousy if they were to remain on lands lying within state borders. He also felt that as a result, there would be too many opportunities for violence and destruction, either of land or life.

The Reservation Policy, as we understand it today, did not exist at the time of the Indian Removal Act. Instead, it was developed primarily during the presidency of Ulysses S. Grant, nearly 40 years later. During the late 1860s and 1870s, the Indian Wars began to cause a large problem in domestic defense for the military. The “Indian Problem,” as it was dubbed, consisted of constant fighting between settlers and Indians as the perpetual idea of Manifest Destiny moved people westward. This caused the trespassing of white settlers on Indian territory and hunting grounds, much of which had been guaranteed to the Indians through federal charters and treaties.

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