Indian Policy

Amazon. Andrew Jackson and His Indian Wars by Robert V. Remini.

"Andrew Jackson v. the Cherokee Nation" excerpt from Andrew Jackson and His Indian Wars by Robert V. Remini. Ran in American History (August 2001). [mirror]

Cherokee Nation v. Georgia, The Reader's Companion to American History. Short. Remini is adamant that Jackson never said what's quoted here "John Marshall has made his decision. Now let him enforce it."

Wikipedia, the open-source encyclopedia, offers a number of good pages, including Trail of Tears, Indian Removal Act, Worcester v. Georgia and Cherokee Nation v. Georgia.

Trail of Tears Cherokee Timeline from The Cherokee "Trail of Tears" 1838-1839, a website devoted to memorializing the event. Includes essays, first-hand accounts, and tour information. Includes an effecting account "Andrew Jackson was my great-grandfather."

"Andrew Jackson - The Worst President The Cherokee Ever Met" by Christina Berry.

"It is important, when looking at these events in history, to remember that Andrew Jackson did not work alone. While there was some resistance to his Indian Removal actions, there was a lot of support. The United States voters who voted for Jackson because of his pro-Removal stance are also responsible."

Indian removal 1814–1858 from the PBS show Africans in America.

The Trail of Tears from About North Georgia. Short but nicely hyperlinked account.

Indian Removal from Prof. Steven Mintz's online textbook Hypertext History, .

"Removal failed in large part because of the nation's commitment to limited government and its lack of experience with social welfare programs. Contracts for food, clothing, and transportation were awarded to the lowest bidders, many of whom failed to fulfill their contractual responsibilities. Indians were resettled on semi-arid lands, unsuited for intensive farming. The tragic outcome was readily foreseeable."

Dissenting opinion in Cherokee Nation v. The State of Georgia, image.

Remini discussed Andrew Jackson and His Indian Wars on C-SPAN. The discussion is not online, but you can order a tape.

Student paper: "The Cherokee Nation and Andrew Jackson,1829—1832" by John G Keegan.

Sources

Andrew Jackson Speaks: Indian Removal. A selection of texts and quotes from texts bearing on Jackson's Indian policy.

Cherokee Indian Removal Debate U.S. Senate (April 15-17, 1830)

Marshall's opinion in Cherokee Nation v. the State of Georgia (1831)

Our Documents: "President Andrew Jackson's Message to Congress 'On Indian Removal'" (1830).

"It gives me pleasure to announce to Congress that the benevolent policy of the Government, steadily pursued for nearly thirty years, in relation to the removal of the Indians beyond the white settlements is approaching to a happy consummation."

If you don't know it, Our Documents, from the National Archives, is a wonderful collection of 100 "milestone" documents in American history. Each document gets the royal treatment—high-res scrollable images, transcripts (take that Library of Congress!), PDF version. Saddly, this is the only document from Jackson's administration—commentary on the sad state of his reputation. A second—perhaps better—choice would have been his nullification proclamation. Not only was that the template for Lincoln's pro-union rhetoric, but, as a document, it has more historical tension around it. Jackson's Indian removal was a done deal, and this message did not electrify.