Assignment2-2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Assignment2-2 - Essay Example Treaties were signed with these tribes by which these native Indian Americans had to relocate to the west in the state of Oklahoma where they were allotted lands in exchange for their lands in the southern region. However, a majority of the tribes resisted the act as they were unwilling to give up their lands which they had possessed for several generations. This resistance ultimately resulted in wars and those tribes that signed the treaties gave up their lands and moved westward and in the process many succumbed to infections and diseases during their journey ((Indian removal n.d; James 2004; The Indian Removal and the Trail of Tears n.d). During the early 19th century, white settlers were eager for more land and pressed the federal government to acquire lands occupied by native Indians as they were considered as a major threat to their progress. During the period between 1814 to 1824 eleven treaties were signed with the five native Indian tribes by which they were to give up their lands in exchange for those in the western region. Most of the tribes agreed to sign the treaties fearing harassment from the white settlers and as a result the government took control of three-quarters of their lands in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Mississippi, Kentucky and North Carolina. However, not many native Indians vacated their lands which resulted in the Supreme Court ruling that Indians residing in these regions could occupy them but not claim these lands as their own. This ruling was heavily protested by the Indian nations who tried to protect their lands by stopping the sale of lands to the US. In addition, they adopte d a non-violent approach to peacefully co-exist with the white settlers in vain. Beginning in 1830, the then president Andrew Jackson brought into effect the Indian Removal Act by which the natives were forcefully deprived of their lands and in turn were asked to move to the west (Indian removal n.d; The