Indian Removal Act Questions

Cherokee, creek, choctaw, chicksaw, and seminole

In 1827 they adopted a written constitution declaring themselves to be a sovereign nation. They based this on the US policy: in former treaties, Indian nations had been declared sovereign so they would be legally capable of ceding their lands.

The court stated that the Cherokee had the right to self government, and declared Georgia's extension of state law over them to be unconditional. But, the cherokees were still unsuccessful because President Jackson refused to enforce the law.

It gave the president the power to negotiate removal treaties with Indian tribes living east of the Mississippi River. Under these treaties, the Indians were to give up their land east of the Mississippi in exchange for lands to be west.

In 1830, a small faction agreed to sign a removal treaty, but these leaders were not recognized as the real leaders of the Cherokee tribe the cherokees signed a petition in protest, but the Supreme Court ignored their demands and ratified the treaty in 1836.

He looked upon them as uneducated and inferior to whites. He treated them like children.

The demands of the Cherokee were ignored and the treaty was ratified anyway. The cherokees were forced to migrate to the Trail of Tears.

4,000

46,000

25 million