President Jackson

Going, Going, Gone!

During the Jacksonian Era there was a rush in literature and art to depict the "vanishing Indians" (Source 197). This was due to the cultural and political influences of the time. President Jackson played a major role in the shaping of this vision. Through his political ideologies and actions taken in government, he established "Indian policies" that demonstrated this vision.

Jackson's Indian policies fit into his ideologies in many ways. He appealed to the people because he shared the same vision for the government's role, "an activist federal government promoting economic growth, social advancement, and scientific progress" (Journey 188). The Indian's were in the way of social advancement. By defeating those (the British, the Spanish, and the Indians) who blocked expansion into the West, he became very popular. This was a time when "Americans valued their local independence and felt threatened by outside centers of power beyond their control" (Journey 190). Jackson agreed to what the people valued. Because there was a fear of "power beyond their control," people also favored state's rights. This went well with the ideology of Jackson in wanting to "restore the federal government to the ideal of . . . farmers and artisans pursuing their individual liberty free of any government intervention that favored the rich and powerful" (Journey 190). These ideologies helped in Jackson's role in shaping the national policy on Native Americans.

Jackson shaped the Indian policy by not siding with the Native Americans and allowing the states to run them out. The Indian Removal Act "allowed state officials to override federal protection of Native Americans and forced eviction of Indians east of the Mississippi to reservations in the West" (Journey 191; Source 199). He disregarded federal treaty obligations that he established in the removal of the tribes by forcing them out of their homes. Two cases against this act were brought to the Supreme Court and "in Cherokee Nation