Indian Removal Act (1830)

Fri May 28, 1830

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The Indian Removal Act, signed into law on this day in 1830, provided the legal authority for the president to force indigenous peoples west of the Mississippi River, leading to the “Trail of Tears”, which killed more than 10,000.

The law is an example of the systematic genocide brought against indigenous peoples by the U.S. government because it discriminated against them in such a way as to effectively guarantee the death of vast numbers of their population. The Act was signed into law by Andrew Jackson and was strongly enforced by his and his successors’ administrations.

The enforcement of the Indian Removal Act directly led to the “Trail of Tears”, which killed over 10,000 indigenous peoples. Although some tribes left peacefully, others fought back, leading to the Second Seminole War of 1835.

  • rhacer@lemmy.worldEnglish
    11·
    1 month ago

    This, slavery, and the Japanese internment are the low points in US History. Totally and completely shameful.

    Every year on our anniversary, my wife and I get in our motorcycles and take a trip somewhere. Last year that trip was to The Land Between Two Lakes in southern Kentucky and Northern Tennessee.

    I had not realized how that area was important in the Trail of Tears, and it was good to be reminded that we didn’t always behave appropriately as a nation.