The Stone and the Ripple
The Indian Removal Act passed on May 20, 1830 was the precursor to the Trail of Tears. The Act allowed the President to claim right to any land west of the Mississippi. This forced the Native Americans out of their homes with no place to go. At this time most migration by the tribes was voluntary and no physical force was necessary. However, after the presidency of Jackson had come to an end, the remaining Indians that had refused to leave their homes were removed by military forces in 1838. The journey that would follow would become a milestone in history: The Trail of Tears.
(Right Image: Andrew Jackson's message to Congress regarding the Indian Removal Act)
In 1887 the Dawes Severalty Act was passed by President Andrew Jackson. This act allowed the government to break apart Indian reservations, in return the Native Americans were given a small grant of land.
“To each head of a family, one-quarter of a section; To each single person over eighteen years of age, one-eighth of a section; To each orphan child under eighteen years of age, one-eighth of a section; and To each other single person under eighteen years now living, or who may be born prior to the date of the order of the President directing an allotment of the lands embraced in any reservation, one-sixteenth of a section…”
Originally this order did not include the Cherokees, Creeks, Choctaws, Chickasaws, Seminoles, Osage, Miamies and Peorias, and Sacs and Foxes. The following President, Grover Cleveland, ignored these claims and extended the Act to these tribes as well. They were yet to receive the allotted grants of land. Unfortunately, the land given to the Native Americans was barren and in no condition to sustain a healthy population.
Although the government was attempting to take responsibility for their actions against the tribes, they were not making any significant progress. The Indians were given land to tend to, but it was infertile and unwanted by both the government and the Natives. They were given small freedoms, but their children were being forced into boarding schools and forbidden to even speak their own languages.
(Left Image: Dawes Severalty Act)
“To each head of a family, one-quarter of a section; To each single person over eighteen years of age, one-eighth of a section; To each orphan child under eighteen years of age, one-eighth of a section; and To each other single person under eighteen years now living, or who may be born prior to the date of the order of the President directing an allotment of the lands embraced in any reservation, one-sixteenth of a section…”
Originally this order did not include the Cherokees, Creeks, Choctaws, Chickasaws, Seminoles, Osage, Miamies and Peorias, and Sacs and Foxes. The following President, Grover Cleveland, ignored these claims and extended the Act to these tribes as well. They were yet to receive the allotted grants of land. Unfortunately, the land given to the Native Americans was barren and in no condition to sustain a healthy population.
Although the government was attempting to take responsibility for their actions against the tribes, they were not making any significant progress. The Indians were given land to tend to, but it was infertile and unwanted by both the government and the Natives. They were given small freedoms, but their children were being forced into boarding schools and forbidden to even speak their own languages.
(Left Image: Dawes Severalty Act)