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Native American Removal Policy
and the 'Trail of Tears'
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The Indian Removal Act
(1830)
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Passed during Andrew Jackson’s second year
in office.
The Indian Removal Act set the stage for his
administration’s handling of Native American
affairs during his presidency.
Removal of eastern tribes to lands west of the
Mississippi.
Became the hallmark of Jacksonian Indian
policy including, most notably, the 'Trail of
Tears,' (which actually transpired shortly after
Jackson had left office.).
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The Indian Removal Act
(1830)
“Be
it enacted by the Senate and House
of Representatives of the United States of
America, in Congress assembled, That it
shall and may be lawful for the President of
the United States to cause so much of any
territory belonging to the United States,
west of the river Mississippi, not included
in any state or organized territory, and to
which the Indian title has been
extinguished,”
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Worcester v. Georgia (1832)

The Supreme Court ruled the State of
Georgia had no power to pass any law
affecting the Cherokee Nation.

Worcester, in principle, guaranteed the
sovereign claims of the Cherokee nation
and the lands within their boundaries.
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Worcester v. Georgia (1832)
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The decision sparked intense
disagreement between the three
branches and breakdown due to
Jackson’s objection.
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Responding to Chief Justice John
Marshall’s written decision it was
rumored Jackson remarked, “The Chief
Justice has made his decision, now let
him enforce it.”
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Worcester v. Georgia (1832)
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Unfortunately for the Cherokee
Nation, the social principles outlined
in Worcester never became a
political reality because of later
developments.
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Treaty of New Echota (1835)
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After a winding trail of treaties designed to
dispossess the Cherokee Nation of of their
land, the Treaty of New Echota represented
the final blow to traditional Cherokee land
rights.

Dripping with paternalism, New Echota ceded
all land possessed by the Cherokee Nation
east of the Mississippi to the United States
and reaffirmed the seven million acre and
perpetual outlet commitments.
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Treaty of New Echota (1835)
 “The
United States shall always have
the right to make and establish such
post and military roads and forts in any
part of the Cherokee country, as they
may deem proper for the interest and
protection of the same and the free use
of as much land, timber, fuel and
materials of all kinds for the construction
and support of the same as may be
necessary…”
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
In an impassioned
letter to Congress,
Chief John Ross
exposed the
illegitimacy of the
Treaty of New Echota
and described its
consequences on the
people of the
Cherokee Nation.

His words echoed
through the history of
treaty negotiations
between Native
Americans and the
government of the
United States.
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The 'Trail of Tears'

In 1838, General Winfield Scott arrived in
Georgia with approximately 7,000 men to
enforce the provisions of the Treaty of New
Echota, which prescribed the relocation of the
Cherokees in Georgia to what is now Oklahoma.
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The 'Trail of Tears'

Somewhere between 3,000-5,000
Cherokees died en route in what
became known as the 'Trail of Tears.'
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