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Indian Removal Act Facts

Indian Removal Act Facts
The Indian Removal Act was a law passed in 1830 by Congress to remove Native American tribes in the southeast United States from their land to federal land west of the Mississippi, in Oklahoma. The five tribes, referred to as 'Five Civilized Tribes', who had adopted some of the culture of the colonial settlers, along with several other Native groups, were forced to abandon their traditional homelands. This event is often referred to as the 'Trail of Tears' because so many Native Americans died along the way to their newly designated land, and if they didn't die en route they suffered from extreme hardships along the way including disease, hunger, and exposure to the elements.
Interesting Indian Removal Act Facts:
The Indian Removal Act was passed in 1930 but plans for this 'forced relocation' began in the early 1800s.
The Indian Removal Act was passed on April 24th, 1830 by the Senate. The vote was 28 in favor and 19 opposing.
The Indian Removal Act was passed on May 26th, 1830 by the House of Representatives. He vote was 101 in favor and 97 opposing.
The Indian Removal Act was signed into law on May 28th, 1830, by Andrew Jackson.
Andrew Jackson was serving as the United States President when the Indian Removal Act was signed into law. He supported the law.
Christian missionaries protested the Indian Removal Act, but the majority of those living in the South wanted it to pass so that they could then inhabit their land. There was also the belief that there was gold to be found where the Native tribes lived.
Gold was discovered in Georgia in 1828, which sped up the passing of the Indian Removal Act. The 'Five Civilized Tribes' inhabited the land in Georgia where gold was found.
The 'Five Civilized Tribes' included the Chickasaw, the Choctaw, the Muscogee-Creek, the Seminole, and Cherokee Nations.
Other Native tribes that were affected by the Indian Removal Act included the Wyandot, the Kickapoo, the Lenape, the Shawnee, and the Potowatomi tribes.
The Five Civilized Tribes had adopted Anglo-American practices, such as farming, western education practices, and even slavery in an effort to assimilate with the settlers in a peaceful manner. This did not work as the settlers became hostile and resentful.
The Indian Removal Act resulting in 60 removal treaties being signed. Despite the removal being considered 'voluntary', refusal was met with force. Treaties were not all signed voluntarily and the government violated many of the treaties after they were signed.
The Native Americans affected by the Indian Removal Act were granted unsettled land west of the Mississippi River.
Some of the Natives went peacefully once the Indian Removal Act became law, but many did not.
Between 1830 and 1840 roughly 60,000 Native Americans were forced from their homelands in the South to land west of the Mississippi.
More than 10,000 Native Americans died on the 'Trail of Tears'.
The phrase 'Trail of Tears' was coined by the Cherokee Nation in 1838 to describe the Indian Removal Act.


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