10.4 Indian Removal

ELI5: Native Americans in Popular Culture

During the time of President Jackson, many newspapers supported him and praised his efforts to open up land for White settlers and remove Native Americans from their homes. Most Americans believed that Native people didn't belong in the United States. Jackson himself had fought against Native tribes and was known for his commitment to removing them from the South.

In popular culture, which means things like books and art that many people liked, there was a strong dislike for Native Americans. This influenced how people thought about them. One popular book called "The Last of the Mohicans" told a story about a man named Natty who lived with Native Americans but helped the British fight against them. The book made it seem like it was okay to remove Native people from their land.

Native Americans also appeared in paintings. An artist named George Catlin painted many pictures of Native people, but he often showed them as savage and wild. One painting called "The Cutting Scene, Mandan O-kee-pa Ceremony" showed a ceremony of the Mandan people, but it's not clear if it was accurate. Even if it wasn't, the painting made White people think that Native Americans were savage.

George Catlin wanted to make money by painting Native Americans, so he painted them in a way that White people expected them to look. In one painting called "Attacking the Grizzly Bear," he showed Native hunters using spears instead of guns, even though they had been using guns for a long time. Another painting called "Wi-jún-jon, Pigeon's Egg Head (The Light) Going To and Returning From Washington" showed a Native man before and after he tried to dress and act like White people. Catlin wanted to show that Native people were trying to be like White people, but it's up to you to decide if he was successful or not.

In summary, during the time of President Jackson, many people didn't like Native Americans and thought they should be removed from their land. This dislike was shown in popular books and paintings, which made people think that Native Americans were savage and different from White people.

In the early 1800s, there were Native American groups living in states like Georgia, Mississippi, and Alabama. These groups, known as the Five Civilized Tribes, had adopted some of the ways of the White settlers, like speaking English and practicing Christianity. However, the White settlers still wanted their land and resented them.

One of the tribes, the Cherokee, were especially targeted because they had rich agricultural lands and there was even gold discovered on their land. Even though the Cherokee had embraced White culture and had their own newspaper, the White settlers still saw them as savages and didn't think they could be good citizens.

President Jackson agreed with the White settlers and wanted to remove the Native Americans from their land. In 1830, Congress passed the Indian Removal Act, which called for the removal of the Five Civilized Tribes to land in present-day Oklahoma. President Jackson was happy about this and believed it was a good thing.

But the Cherokee didn't want to leave their land and fought against the law. They took their case to the Supreme Court, arguing that they were an independent nation and should be protected. However, the Supreme Court ruled against them and said they didn't meet the criteria to be considered a foreign nation.

Another case involving the Cherokee went to the Supreme Court as well. This case, Worcester v. Georgia, was about the rights of non-natives to live on Native American lands. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Samuel Worcester, a missionary who lived among the Cherokee and opposed their removal. The court said that the Cherokee had their own territory and the laws of Georgia didn't apply to them.

Even though the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Cherokee, President Jackson and the White settlers didn't listen. They used the U.S. military to force the Cherokee and other tribes to move west. This forced migration, known as the Trail of Tears, caused the deaths of thousands of Native Americans.

Some Native Americans, like the Sauk tribe led by Black Hawk, resisted the removal policy. They fought back in a war called Black Hawk's War, but they were outnumbered and many were killed.

These events show how the majority opinion of the White settlers in a democracy had a powerful impact on the lives of Native Americans during the Age of Jackson.