Changes

:''See also [[Trail of Tears]], [[genocide|Ethnic cleansing]] and [[Dred Scott decision]]''

:''See also [[Trail of Tears]], [[genocide|Ethnic cleansing]] and [[Dred Scott decision]]''

The 21st Congress was controlled by the Jacksonian Democrats. The first major bill they passed was the [[Indian Removal Act]], authorizing the removal of the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminoles from the South, primarily Georgia and Florida, to a territory west of the Mississippi River which became [[Oklahoma]]. The bill was controversial, opposed by many Christians and Northerners. During the first stage of the Choctaws’ forced migration begun in 1831, thousands died during the journey. Each successive stage was marred by a lack of food, shelter, and protection from the elements. Diphtheria and typhoid were rampant. Over the decade, more than 46,000 Native Americans experienced these conditions.

The 21st Congress was controlled by the Jacksonian Democrats. The first major bill they passed was the [[Indian Removal Act]], authorizing the removal of the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminoles from the South, primarily Georgia and Florida, to a territory west of the Mississippi River which became [[Oklahoma]]. The bill was controversial, opposed by many Christians and Northerners. During the first stage of the Choctaws’ forced migration begun in 1831, thousands died during the journey. Each successive stage was marred by a lack of food, shelter, and protection from the elements. Diphtheria and typhoid were rampant. Over the decade, more than 46,000 Native Americans experienced these conditions.

[[File:Trail of Tears.png|right|350px|thumb|Andrew Jackson not only founded the Democratic Party, but he also founded the infamous Trail of Tears.]]

[[File:Trail of Tears.png|right|350px|thumb|Andrew Jackson not only founded the Democratic Party, but he also founded the infamous Trail of Tears.]]

In the 31st Congress, the Democrats had a majority in the Senate and a large plurality in the House, while the [[Free Soil Republican]]s held only 9 seats. The [[Whig]]s held the second largest contingent as well as the White House. Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, which penalized local and state officials in free states who did not arrest an alleged runaway slave on demand of a slave owner. Any person aiding a runaway slave by providing food or shelter was subject to six months' imprisonment and a fine. Slave owners needed only to supply a sworn affidavit to a U.S. Marshal to capture an escaped slave. Since a suspected slave had no [[Jury trial|right to trial]], the law resulted in the kidnapping of free blacks by bounty hunters and conscription into slavery in both free states and slave states, as suspected fugitive slaves were denied the right to a legal defense. The law's passage ultimately led to the demise of the Whigs and rise of Free Soil-Republicans.

In the 31st Congress, the Democrats had a majority in the Senate and a large plurality in the House, while the [[Free Soil Republican]]s held only 9 seats. The [[Whig]]s held the second largest contingent as well as the White House. Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, which penalized local and state officials in free states who did not arrest an alleged runaway slave on demand of a slave owner. Any person aiding a runaway slave by providing food or shelter was subject to six months' imprisonment and a fine. Slave owners needed only to supply a sworn affidavit to a U.S. Marshal to capture an escaped slave. Since a suspected slave had no [[Jury trial|right to trial]], the law resulted in the kidnapping of free blacks by bounty hunters and conscription into slavery in both free states and slave states, as suspected fugitive slaves were denied the right to a legal defense. The law's passage ultimately led to the demise of the Whigs and rise of Free Soil-Republicans.