HISTORY

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History
The Indian Removal Act refers to a document that was signed by President Andrew Jackson on 28th of May 1830. It contained an authority to the president to offer unsettled lands to the West of Mississippi, in return for lands belonging to Indians which were located within the state borders. Despite the fact that many tribes resisted, a few of accepted the relocation policy peacefully. The U.S government moved thousands of people Westwards, and many of them died on the forced march that later came to be referred to as the ‘Trial of Tears.’
President’s Andrew Jackson’s message addressed to the Congress that of all the tribes in the state, two important ones had accepted the suggestions made for the removal of the Indians out of their settlements. This, therefore, had it that the remaining tribes should make a decision to comply with the rest, so as to gain the apparent advantages. The speech reflected the national sentiment of the particular period of time in the fact that, since the population of citizens in the state was high, then the act of removing a group especially the one with the majority of the citizens would actually enable reduce the population. Additionally, it could serve as a proper ruling strategy for both the state and general government, because implementing and regulating laws for such a smaller group of people could be easier and more effective.
Considering the racial perspective of the speech, Indians occupied most of the regions both productive and developed in comparison to the rest of the tribes.

According to the president’s message, it could be painful for the Indians to vacate the state, but then they had made no developments to the country. Economically, President Andrew says that the removal of the race could leave a great space for the state and would, therefore, enable them to rapidly grow not only in population but also wealth and supremacy. He continues to add that such an act will promote happiness for the Indians, as it will leave them with the freedom to rule their own state and expand their own territory. The native Africans were viewed as unwanted in the state and had to give room to the whites to rule them in their own country. Obviously, this meant that the Africans had to vacate from the rich settlements and give the whites the land to satisfy their own needs.
President Jackson’s message gives the view that Africans were uncivilized and they were in darkness, therefore, they had to excuse the whites to rule over them and bring them to light. This is evident in the fact that from his message, the president reveals that the tribes which settled in the country consisted of Eastern States but were currently annihilated and chased away so as to create a vast room for the whites. The message given by the President concerning the Indian Removal Act (3), was a transformation tool for America especially on the basis of racial and economic nature of 19th century. This is as a result of all the privileges left for the American government and more so the colonialists when the Indians left their productive land and regions for them to take control of. Additionally, the tribes that were left to inherit the whole region mainly consisted of Americans; therefore it was easier and more effective for them to keep their own laws and secrets without the fear of other races getting the ideas of their plans. This not only improved the American cultural system, but also the economic and social structures that promoted growth and development of the American state.
The European Americans were portrayed in a totally different perspective from the native Africans, in the sense that they were viewed as more important and unique, as well as civilized. We get to know this from the message that the native Africans had to vacate from their own country and leave the land for the Europeans. It is clear from the president’s message on the Indian Act that it would be very painful for the Africans to leave the land but their ancestors did nothing of importance compared to what the American children were currently doing. The statement though hurting, placed Africans in a situation that they could not help rather than carry their belongings to unproductive regions leaving their own fertile areas for colonialists. The greater context of ‘Manifest Destiny’ complies with Jackson’s perspective in the sense that the removal of Indians and native Africans from their regions of residence brought much gain to the Europeans, as they used power and force to eliminate them.
The ideal of progress informs Jackson’s perspective in that the colonial government applied cruel methods no matter how painful it could be, to acquire the land and benefits of ownership from other tribes. In our discussion on Nationalism, the text explains that the powerful states which were the Americans’ had the aim of winning other territories from Africa as they viewed them as illiterate and uninformed. The industrial revolution came about from the numerous resources acquired from African countries, in addition to the readily available labor which was Africans themselves. Colonialism is portrayed from the sense that both Indians and the native Africans were forced to quit living in their comfortable countries and chased away to unfertile and harsh regions.
In conclusion, the document contains information on the whites and native Africans as well as Indians, and this enables all the tribes to come up with strategies of development. In shaping the modern world, there is a need to harmonize the countries particularly different races, in order to promote growth and development globally. Respect and support for all tribes and ensuring a harmonious co-existence will bring forth uplifting of all countries and enhance national integration.