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Indian Removal

 

No one can doubt the moral duty of the Government of the United States to protect and if possible to preserve and perpetuate the scattered remnants of this race which are left within our borders. With that authority had been given by law to destroy all ardent spirits found in their country, without waiting the doubtful result and slow process of a legal seizure. .
             Some Americans saw this as an excuse for a brutal and inhumane course of action, and protested loudly against removal. To Native Americans this land was unknown to them wherefore they had no experience living in any other type of land other than that which they were occupying. The Cherokee cited poor resources in lack of wood and water, making survival impossible. The Cherokee simply did not want to give up the land that holds history and sentimental meaning to them. The unfamiliar land "contains neither the scenes of our childhood, nor the graves of our fathers." .
             The disadvantage in the positions was nearly all relocation was carried out under duress, whether by military escort, or when no other option remained after tribal decimation by broken treaties, fraudulent land deals and the wars these often caused. For the benefit and comfort of the Indians, and for the prevention of injuries or oppressions on the part of the citizens or Indians, the United States in Congress assembled the sole and exclusive right of regulating trade with the Indians, and managing all their affairs in such manner as they think proper.
             In successive dealings with Indians in treaty negotiations, Jackson admitted his weakness in bribing Indian chiefs to sign treaties by giving the chiefs their own private allotments that would allow them to stay behind while the rest of the tribe had to move away. In addition, the Court repealed earlier laws that deprived the tribe protection of their land to be controlled by their own laws, based on the fact that they had an indigenous ownership claim, and that the purpose of these laws were blatantly to take the land away from the Cherokees.


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