Barbara Zisk United States History
Since 1492, the shared history of the European immigrants and the Native Americans in the Western Hemisphere records a complicated lesson of the clashing of cultures. It is a history littered with broken promises, broken formal treaties, disease decimated tribes, violent wars, and destruction of ways of life never to be regained. In the 1830s the United States expansion into the old southwest produced a tale of abusive executive power, excessive greed, and ultimately a 'trail of tears.'
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When Andrew Jackson gained the White House in the election of 1828, the country had its first "western" president. A war hero, Indian fighter, plantation owner, land speculator, and a self-professed "common man," Jackson made his reputation of an able Indian fighter at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend against the "Red Sticks" or Creek Indian Tribe. Jackson had definite opinions on what should be the future of the Five Civilized Tribes and spelled them out in his First Inaugural Address. He continues to discuss the Native Americans' situation in following annual messages to Congress.
Bit by bit, the United States and the various states aided by questionable treaty practices, gained more and more of the Tribes' land until only the Cherokee and the Seminoles were left to fight for what was theirs. One would choose the courts and the other, the battlefield. When the first case before the Supreme Court ended in a decision that the tribe had come before the wrong court, the Cherokee went back to court. This time the Court decided in the Cherokee's favor, but Jackson defiantly declared that he would like to see the Court enforce its decision. With time running out a minority group of the tribe signed the Treaty of New Enchota sealing the fate of the whole tribe.
Music by: Rainbow Walker