Introduction to Indigenous American Relations and Removal

What you’ll learn to do: describe the U.S. Government’s relationships with Native Americans during Jackson’s presidency

A painting depicting the forced relocation of Native Americans during the Indian Removal Act of 1830. The painting features many Native Americans holding their children close as they trek through a snowy landscape and are being herded by soldiers.

Popular culture in the Age of Jackson was preoccupied with the alleged savagery of Native people, a prejudice that shaped domestic policy. This popular animosity found expression through the application of state power. Even the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in favor of the Cherokee in Georgia offered no protection against the forced removal of the Five Civilized Tribes from the Southeast, mandated by the 1830 Indian Removal Act and carried out by the U.S. military.