Essays on Indian Removal Act

May 28, 1830

White Americans often feared and resented the Native Americans they encountered. State governments joined the effort to drive Choctaw, Chickasaw, Seminole, Creek and Cherokee people out of the South.

In 1830, Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act, which gave the federal government the power to exchange Native-held land for land to the west. President Jackson forced Native Americans to vacate lands they had lived on for generations. The Choctaw became the first nation to be expelled from its land altogether.