Lesson 12.2: Jackson’s Policy

Toward Native Americans

Today’s Essential Question: How did President

Jackson’s policies change the lives of many American

Indians?

Vocabulary• evaluate – determine the worth or

quality of something• policy – basic principle which a person

or an organization follows• aspect – a part, characteristic, or

appearance of something

Check for Understanding

• What are we going to do today?• How do your teachers evaluate how

much you’ve learned?• How is a policy different from a rule?• What aspect of school do you enjoy

most?

What We Already Know

In 1828, a new wave of voters emerged from the class of common people and

elected Andrew Jackson president.

What We Already Know

One way that the cotton gin changed the South was that native Americans were

forced from their land to make room for more cotton plantations.

What We Already Know

The Supreme Court ruling in Marbury v. Madison gave the courts the power of judicial review,

meaning that courts can declare a law or executive action unconstitutional.

In the 1820s, most whites had strong feelings about the Native Americans still

living east of the Mississippi River.Some whites hoped that the Native Americans could

adapt to the white people’s way of life.

Others did not want to live near the “uncivilized” Native Americans and felt Indians should move in

order to avoid conflict over land.

Check for Understanding

• A ask B: What were the two attitudes most white Americans held toward Native Americans?

• They either wanted them to learn to live like whites or they wanted them to be removed from contact with whites. Be sure to re-state

the question in your response!

In the 1820s, large areas of land in Georgia, the Carolinas, Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee were

owned by Indians.

The major tribes included the Cherokee, Chickasaw,

Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole, who were often called the ‘Five Civilized

Tribes.’

The Cherokee Nation had adopted many aspects of white culture.

• Dressed like whites • Owned prosperous farms and cattle ranches• Some were slave-owners.• Written language, published their own

newspaper• Some children attended missionary schools.• Cherokee constitution founded the Cherokee

Nation in 1827

Get your whiteboards and markers ready!

3. In what ways did the Cherokees adopt white culture?

A. Owning farms and raising cattle

B. Publishing newspapersC. Creating a written

constitution by which to govern themselves

D. Voting in state and local elections

Choose the answer that is NOT true!

Andrew Jackson had a long history of conflict with Native Americans.

• He chased Seminole raiders after the War of 1812.

• Acting as Indian treaty commissioner, Jackson had made treaties with Indians in the Southeast.

• These treaties were forced on the tribes, and the government gained large tracts of land.

The cotton boom in Georgia changed life for the Cherokees.

• As the cotton boom spread across the South, more settlers moved westward looking for farmland.

• The demand for new land for cotton cultivation led many settlers to desire Cherokee lands in Georgia and Tennessee

The discovery of gold on their land in Georgia changed life for the Cherokees.

• Now miners joined settlers in wanting Cherokee lands, and demands to move the Cherokees increased.

• Georgia passed laws that gave them the right to take over Native American lands.

• When the Cherokee and other tribes protested, Jackson supported Georgia.

Jackson had a solution to the conflict in Georgia.

Jackson asked Congress to pass a

law that would require Native

Americans to either move west or submit

to state laws.

Jackson’s solution to the conflict in Georgia was the Indian Removal Act.

While many Americans objected to the proposal, Congress passed the

act in 1830, requiring Indians to relocate west of the Mississippi.

Check for Understanding

Be sure to re-state the question in your response!

A ask B: For what two reasons did Georgia pass new laws that took land away from the Cherokee?

The cotton boom and the discovery of gold on Cherokee land caused Georgia to pass laws that took away their land.

Check for Understanding

Be sure to re-state the question in your response!

B ask A: What did the Indian Removal Act do?

The Indian Removal Act required Native Americans to relocate west

of the Mississippi.

Jackson’s actions reflected his view of Native Americans.

Jackson saw Indians as conquered subjects who lived within the

boundaries of the United States, and had

to obey U.S. laws.

He thought that Native Americans should adopt white culture

and become citizens of the United States.

• They could not have their own governments within the nation’s borders.

• They could move west into the Indian Territory.

The Indian Territory was an area that covered what is now Oklahoma and parts of Kansas and

Nebraska, where Native Americans were to relocate.

Get your whiteboards and markers ready!

4. What belief was the basis for President Jackson's policy on Indians?

A. Indians had a right to keep their traditional tribal ways.

B. Indians were committing crimes against white Georgians.

C. The government had the right to remove the Indians from the land east of the Mississippi.

D. The government treaty between the Cherokee and the U.S. gov-ernment was unconstitutional.

The Cherokees tried to fight the Indian Removal Act.

The Cherokees appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court to protect their land from

being seized by Georgia.

Chief Justice John Marshall ruled that Georgia’s laws did not apply to the

Cherokee Nation.

Both Georgia and President Jackson ignored the Supreme Court.

Although some Cherokees gave up and voluntarily moved west, the majority refused

and tried to negotiate with President Jackson.

John Ross, a well-educated and

wealthy Cherokee chief led these

efforts, but Jackson refused to meet with

Ross or other Cherokee leaders.

In 1838, federal troops rounded up 16,000 Cherokees and, over the fall and winter of

1838-1839, forced them to set out on the long journey west.

Native Americans were forced to journey along the Trail of Tears.

One-fourth died from exposure, disease or starvation on this

harsh journey to Indian Territory.

Get your whiteboards and markers ready!

5. How did the Supreme Court rule on the Indian Removal Act?

A. Georgia could not make laws governing the Cherokees.

B. Jackson's order to move the Indians west was unconstitutional.

C. The Indian Removal Act was unconstitutional.

D. The Cherokee must submit to the Indian Removal Act.

6. How did President Jackson react to the Supreme Court ruling?

A. He obeyed the court.B. He sent soldiers to force

the Indians move to the Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River.

C. He tried to open new negotiations with the Cherokees.

D. He asked Congress for a constitutional amendment that would make the Indian Removal Act constitutional.

In 1835, the Seminoles refused to leave

Florida, leading to the Second Seminole War.

Other Native American groups also resisted Indian removal.

Other Native American groups also resisted Indian removal.

The Seminoles continued to fight until the war ended in 1842. Some went deeper into the

Everglades, and others moved west.

The Seminoles were led by a talented chieftain named Osceola.

Osceola’s band used surprise attacks in the Everglades to

defeat the U.S. Army in many battles.

Osceola was tricked into capture when he came to peace talks during

a truce and later died in prison

Several tribes north of the Ohio River also resisted relocation.

A chief named Black Hawk led a band of

Indians from the Sauk and Fox tribes back to their lands

in Illinois.

Several tribes north of the Ohio River also resisted relocation.

In the Black Hawk War, the Illinois

militia and the U.S. Army crushed the

uprising.

A chief named Black Hawk led a band of

Indians from the Sauk and Fox tribes back to their lands

in Illinois.

Check for Understanding

Be sure to re-state the question in your response!

A ask B: Who was Osceola?

Osceola was a talented war chief of the Seminoles in Florida who led his people

into war against the whites.

Check for Understanding

Be sure to re-state the question in your response!

B ask A: Who was Black Hawk?

Black Hawk was a war chief of a band of Sauk and Fox back who led the fight against the whites in Illinois.

Get your whiteboards and markers ready!

7. In What ways did Native Americans resist the Indian

Removal Act?A. Hiding in the wildernessB. Calling for a new alliance of all

Southern tribesC. Taking up arms against whitesD. Seeking foreign assistance

from Great BritainE. Bringing their case to the U.S.

Supreme Court

Choose ALL that are true!