The Research On Indian Removal Policy Of Jackson Government

Indians have a special position in the development of American history, and howto deal with them has always been a fairly difficult problem for the US government.The early stage of the American Indian policy is from American Independence to the1820s, during this period, the government mainly took a kind of hybrid policyfocusing on "civilization". Andrew Jackson was elected President of the United Statesin1828, at a time when the American westward movement was gradually approachingthe climax and the conflict between the southern states and the Native Americansintensified. In order to help the white immigrants obtain the eastern Indian lands,avoid the further deterioration of ethnic conflict and safeguard states’ rights and theUnion, Jackson changed the previous government policies on Indian affairs, andbegan to adopt large-scale removal policy. The migration made the Indians lose vasttracts of land and suffer seriously physical and mental impairments, which hadobviously racial predatory character. Nevertheless, considering the actual situation ofthe society at that time, the removal policy was also the only choice that Jacksonadministration could make.The thesis, on the foundation of the historical data and the predecessors’ research,using the methods of historical analysis, literature analysis and exemplification, triesto reveal the reasons of Jackson administration’s carrying out the Indian removalpolicy, and make the appropriate evaluation on it.The thesis is divided into six parts, the introduction part mainly illustrates thesources and the significance of this topic, as well as the summary of former academicresearch at home and abroad.The main body of the thesis contains five parts.Chapter I mainly introduces the Indian policies before the1830s. This chapterrespectively introduces Indian policies in the British colonies in North America period,the American revolutionary war period, the confederate government period(1783-1789) and the federal government period (1789-1829). Chapter II mainly discusses the pass and implementation of Indian policy ofJackson government. This chapter concretely describes the pass of Indian RemovalAct of1830and other bills, and the implementation of removal policy. Although theremoval act caused heated debates in Congress, it was finally approved by narrowmargins. The process of the removal policy implementation was full of violence andfrauds, which caused enormous suffering to the Indians. The whites often forced theIndian tribes to sign removal agreements by the means of bribery, deception and threat;and those who always refused to move west were ruthlessly evicted from theirhomeland by troops.Chapter III analyses the reasons of the removal policy emphatically. The whites’covet for Indian lands, civilizing the Native Americans, implementing racialsegregation and avoiding Indian-White conflicts are motivations that Jacksongovernment formulates the Indian removal policy; And the enhancement of Americanpower and the decrease of Indian power provide favorable condition for theenforcement of the removal policy; President Jackson’s support for the removal policyis the push factors promoting the enforcement of it.Chapter IV is about the Indians and the American people’s response to theremoval policy. Facing Jackson government’s policy, some Indian tribes obeyed it,while some resisted, the latter’s struggle ended in failure. Although the removal policywas criticized and condemned by American society, in the frenzy of westwardmovement, compared with the removal advocates, the opponents’ influence seemedrelatively weak.Chapter V analyses the influence and evolution of the Indian removal policy, andmakes a brief evaluation on it.