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The '''Indian Removal Act''' was signed into law by President [[Andrew Jackson]] on May 28, 1830, authorizing the president to grant unsettled lands west of the [[Mississippi River]] in exchange for Indian lands within existing state borders.  

The '''Indian Removal Act''' was signed into law by President [[Andrew Jackson]] on May 28, 1830, authorizing the president to grant unsettled lands west of the [[Mississippi River]] in exchange for Indian lands within existing state borders.  

The story of westward expansion by European Americans is a basic theme of the American experience, but it is also a history of Indian removal from their traditional lands. Indians lost their lands through by purchase, war, disease and even extermination, but many transfers of Indian land were formalized by treaty. The Constitution of 1789 empowered [[Congress]] to "regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian tribes." [http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.articlei.html] Federal policy regarded each tribe as a sovereign entity capable of signing binding treaties with the [[United States]] government. In the first 40 years of the new republic, the United States signed multiple treaties with Indian tribes which usually followed a basic pattern: the signatory tribe withdrew to a prescribed reservation and in return the Federal Government promised to provide supplies, food, and often an annuity. In 1830, [[Congress]] passed the Indian Removal Act, a bill engineered by President Andrew Jackson. The act promised a voluntary and fair "exchange" of lands, and opened the door for the militias of trans-Appalachian and southern states to move the Indians across the Mississippi by force. The Indians' destination was to be an "Indian Territory" set aside west of [[Iowa]], [[Missouri]], and [[Arkansas]].

The story of westward expansion by European Americans is a basic theme of the American experience, but it is also a history of Indian dislocation by purchase, war, disease, and treaty. The Constitution of 1789 empowered [[Congress]] to "regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian tribes." [http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.articlei.html] Federal policy regarded each tribe as a sovereign entity capable of signing binding treaties with the [[United States]] government. In the first 40 years of the new republic, the United States signed multiple treaties with Indian tribes which usually followed a basic pattern: the signatory tribe withdrew to a prescribed reservation and in return the Federal Government promised to provide supplies, food, and often an annuity. In 1830, [[Congress]] passed the Indian Removal Act, a bill engineered by President Andrew Jackson. The act promised a voluntary and fair exchange of lands, and opened the door for the militias of trans-Appalachian and southern states to move the Indians across the Mississippi by force. The Indians' destination was to be an "Indian Territory" set aside west of [[Iowa]], [[Missouri]], and [[Arkansas]].

The [[Cherokee]] nation resisted, however, challenging in court the [[Georgia]] laws that restricted their freedoms on tribal lands. In its 1831 ruling on [[Cherokee Nation v. the State of Georgia]], the Supreme Court addressed the question of whether native tribes could be treated as "foreign nations." It decided that they should be counted rather as wards of the federal government. He obtained the signature of a Cherokee chief agreeing to relocation in the Treaty of New Enchola, which Congress ratified against the protests of [[Daniel Webster]] and Henry Clay in 1835. Under the guns of federal troops and Georgia state militia, the Cherokee tribe made their trek to the dry plains across the Mississippi. Thousands of resisters died en route from the brutal conditions of the "[[Trail of Tears]]."

The [[Cherokee]] nation resisted, however, and claimed in court to be a foreign nation that was not subject to [[Georgia]] laws. In its 1831 ruling on [[Cherokee Nation v. the State of Georgia]], the Supreme Court decided that it had no jurisdiction over the question, and described the Indian tribes as domestic dependent nations. In 1835, Congress ratified the Treaty of New Enchola in which the Cherokees agreed to relocation. Under the power of federal troops and Georgia state militia, the Cherokee tribe made their trek to the plains across the Mississippi. Thousands of resisters died en route in what is now called the [[Trail of Tears]].  

The United States government's conflict with Indian tribes was clearly related to an insatiable demand for cheap land for European settlers. To make matter more difficult, Indians generally had a different concept of land ownership than Europeans, emphasizing land use for hunting, farming, or dwelling for the tribe, but not recognizing the concept of individual ownership. Indian society was loose, decentralized, and non-authoritarian where "chiefs" were often men of respect and informal authority, but not designated by the tribe to make decisions. The result was that treaties were often signed with Indian leaders who did not have the backing of everyone in the tribe.

The United States government's conflict with Indian tribes was directly related to advancing civilization. To make matter more difficult, Indians generally had a different concept of land ownership than European Americans, emphasizing land use for hunting, farming, or dwelling for the tribe, but not recognizing the concept of individual ownership. Indian society was loose, decentralized, and non-authoritarian where "chiefs" were often men of respect and informal authority, but not designated by the tribe to make decisions. The result was that treaties were often signed with Indian leaders who did not have the backing of everyone in the tribe.

==Text of Jackson's Second Annual Message to Congress, December 6, 1930==

==Text of Jackson's Second Annual Message to Congress, December 6, 1930==