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The Indian Removal Act: Jackson, Sovereignty And Executive Will, Daniele Celano
The Indian Removal Act: Jackson, Sovereignty And Executive Will, Daniele Celano
The Purdue Historian
From King Andrew I to Old Hickory, Andrew Jackson had no shortage of nicknames symbolic of the opposing opinions of the president responsible for the forced removal of all Native peoples from the American South. While on its face the Indian Removal Act of 1830 appears to be little more than a racist executive order purporting large-scale land theft, the Act was also a manifestation of executive power and competing constitutional interpretations of sovereignty. In using his presidential authority to demand Indian removal, Jackson not only restructured national Indian policy, but further challenged both the power balance between state and …
Parchment As Power: The Effects Of Pre-Revolutionary Treaties On Native Americans From The Colonial Period To Present, Katie Wilkinson
Parchment As Power: The Effects Of Pre-Revolutionary Treaties On Native Americans From The Colonial Period To Present, Katie Wilkinson
The Purdue Historian
In colonial America, there was one resource that settlers were thirsty for and only Native Americans could provide: land. Europeans were interested in gaining possession of Native land via whatever methods would place the fertile soil into their greedy palms the fastest. As a result, they turned to a familiar practice to establish ownership – the written word, more specifically treaties. Unfortunately, the Europeans had fundamentally different thoughts concerning land than the Natives and it resulted in great forfeitures for tribes. While Native Americans were often tricked into land cessions, this was not always the case. Some of the reasons …