President Andrew
Jackson had a significant effect on Native
Americans. Native American tribes were prominent in the American South, and so
presented an obstacle to settlers. Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act of
1830, which forcibly relocated inhabitants of the Five Civilized
Tribes living east of the Mississippi River; this led to the infamous
Trail of Tears.
This act directly punished those
Native Americans who were attempting to assimilate into the spreading U.S. culture; many spoke
English, held local jobs, or traded peacefully with white settlers, and Christianity was
widespread, pushing out Native American religious practices. However, the encroachment of
plantation farmers and aggressive, violent settlers (commonplace but not the norm) gave Jackson
leeway to sign laws prohibiting Native Americans from owning land outright; this tacitly gave
settlers permission to steal land and kill Native Americans. Jackson's personal view of Native
Americans was condescending; he thought of them as sub-mental and inferior, and the Removal Act
was seen by many as a humane method of getting Native Americans out of the way without overt
warfare. For their part, the Five Civilized Tribes attempted to win their independence through
litigation; they were blocked at most turns and ultimately failed. Many local tribes engaged in
guerrilla warfare against settlers, again spurring violent retaliation.
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