andrew jackson

Andrew Jackson 's Indian Removal Plan

In 1830 , Jackson signed into law the Indian Removal bill . This provided for the Indians that were living in Georgia and other parts of the Southeast and some Western areas to be moved to a reservation in Oklahoma . Most Indians did not want to move . Jackson gave a speech on this bill right after it passed , a speech which is not incredibly nice to the Indians . This led to a long and hard battle between the US government and the Indians , which lasted several years and caused

the death of many people

In the initial speech on the Indian removal bill , Jackson speaks to the Indians ' conditions . He first says that some major tribes have happily signed the agreement to move to the Oklahoma territory , and hopes others will follow . This means he would like their moving to be voluntary which is how Jackson 's ideas about moving start out . However , he goes on to say some very contradictory things . First he states that such a move will avoid collision between the US and the Indians , an idea which seems to support this notion - peace for all . Then Jackson talks about relieving states of their Indian population , and helping them gain wealth and power , which is not so generous to the Indians , as it implies that Indians and white men cannot live in a civilized manner together He also uses several derogatory terms when he refers to the Indians , and seems to feel that they are generally inferior to the white men . His speech is extremely off-putting to many Indians

During his speech , Jackson refers to the Indians as savages ' another contradictory term . It is the most common term used to refer to the Indians and occurs throughout Jackson 's speech . This is just one of the terms he uses to describe the Indians , though . He also speaks in a `back handed ' way , saying that Indians should change their ways to become law abiding Christian men , full of love for their country , and religious like he is . He refers to such Christians as `civilized thereby implying that the Indians are uncivilized . Jackson 's terms change throughout the speech , but seem mainly derogatory , by today 's standards . To Jackson , the only people who are worthy of land , and respect , and white men who are Christian and who live in the accepted way in the U .S . The Indians did not fit that pro and Jackson speaks about their inferiority in his speech

Jackson compares the Indians ' emigration to the white citizens emigration . As he puts it , the white men frequently leave their homes and the graves of their fathers to seek new lands and to find better experiences . Jackson assumes that the Indians will have better experiences on their new land , because this land will keep them separate from the white men . He also explains how much better this deal is - purchasing them land on which to live - than the way white citizens handled expansion...