removal act

Congress Acts

The Indian Removal Act, signed into law on May 28, 1830, by President Andrew Jackson, began its legislative history with Jackson’s first State of the Union Address, delivered in December 1829. Each house of Congress referred the portion of the message dealing with Indian policy to its Committee on Indian Affairs. Both committees were chaired by Tennesseans—Hugh Lawson White in the Senate, John Bell in the House—and were dominated by southern Democrats. White’s committee reported its bill to the Senate floor on February 22, 1830; Bell’s committee followed suit two days later. The Senate’s agenda permitted that body to complete debate on its version before the House could begin to work on its bill. Both were substantially the same, so Bell withdrew the version prepared by his committee and recommended that the House adopt the Senate bill. The House agreed, passed a slightly altered version of the Senate bill on May 26, and returned it to the Senate, which concurred two days later. The president signed it immediately.

Many representatives and senators recalled that the debates in both houses had been extremely bitter, highly partisan, emotionally super charged, and exhausting. Senator Theodore Frelinghuysen of New Jersey, a friend of Jeremiah Evarts, a strong supporter of Christian benevolence, and a bitter anti-Jacksonian, led the attack in the upper house with a six-hour speech that extended over three days. The thrust of his argument was to uphold the sovereignty of the Cherokee Nation, condemn Georgia’s extension of jurisdiction and Jackson’s refusal to protect the Cherokees from Georgia law, charge that the entire scheme was a transparent attempt to force the Cherokees and other tribes out of their lands, and predict terrible suffering for the Indian victims of the policy. Peleg Sprague (Maine) and Ascher Robbins (Rhode Island) joined with opposition speeches. John Forsyth (Georgia) and Robert Adams (Mississippi), along with Chairman White, defended removal. Despairing of victory, opponents also tried unsuccessfully to amend White’s bill with language that would force Jackson to protect the Cherokees from Georgia law until they were removed. The final vote, clearly along party lines, was 28 to 19.

The same pattern of attack and defense occurred in the House, which debated removal from May 13 to 26. Heavily influenced by the arguments and evidence presented in the “William Penn” essays, northern anti- Jackson representatives did battle against southern, largely Georgia, Democrats. But the party lines were not quite so strong in the House and some Democrats, particularly from Pennsylvania and the Ohio valley, along with Tennessean Davy Crockett, voted in opposition. The final tally, 102 to 97, reflects how controversial the removal policy actually was.

Note carefully what the act did and did not provide. What was the president authorized to do? How was removal to be arranged? How were the rights of the tribes protected? Opponents of the bill claimed that it would force the tribes to remove. Is there any evidence to support this fear?

UNITED STATES CONGRESS

Indian Removal Act

May 28, 1830

Chapter CXLVIII

An Act to provide for an exchange of lands with the Indians residing in any of the states or territories, and for their removal west of the river Mississippi.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That it shall and may be lawful for the President of the United States to cause so much of any territory belonging to the United States, west of the river Mississippi, not included in any state or organized territory, and to which the Indian title has been extinguished, as he may judge necessary, to be divided into a suitable number of districts, for the reception of such tribes or nations of Indians as may choose to exchange the lands where they now reside, and remove there; and to cause each of said districts to be so described by natural or artificial marks, as to be easily distinguished from every other.

Sec. 2 And be it further enacted, That it shall and may be lawful for the President to exchange any or all of such districts, so to be laid off and described, with any tribe or nation of Indians now residing within the limits of any of the states or territories, and with which the United States have existing treaties, for the whole or any part or portion of the territory claimed and occupied by such tribe or nation, within the bounds of any one or more of the states or territories, where the land claimed and occupied by the Indians, is owned by the United States, or the United States are bound to the state within which it lies to extinguish the Indian claim thereto.

Sec. 3 And be it further enacted, That in the making of any such exchange or exchanges, it shall and may be lawful for the President solemnly to assure the tribe or nation with which the exchange is made, that the United States will forever secure and guaranty to them, and their heirs or successors, the country so exchanged with them; and if they prefer it, that the United States will cause a patent or grant to be made and executed to them for the same: Provided always, That such lands shall revert to the United States, if the Indians become extinct, or abandon the same.

Sec. 4 And be it further enacted, That if, upon any of the lands now occupied by the Indians, and to be exchanged for, there should be such improvements as add value to the land claimed by any individual or individuals of such tribes or nations, it shall and may be lawful for the President to cause such value to be ascertained by appraisement or otherwise, and to cause such ascertained value to be paid to the person or persons rightfully claiming such improvements. And upon the payment of such valuation, the improvements so valued and paid for, shall pass to the United States, and possession shall not afterwards be permitted to any of the same tribe.

Sec. 5 And be it further enacted, That upon the making of any such exchange as is contemplated by this act, it shall and may be lawful for the President to cause such aid and assistance to be furnished to the emigrants as may be necessary and proper to enable them to remove to, and settle in, the country for which they may have exchanged; and also, to give them such aid and assistance as may be necessary for their support and subsistence for the first year after their removal.

Sec. 6 And be it further enacted, That it shall and may be lawful for the President to cause such tribe or nation to be protected, at their new residence, against all interruption or disturbance from any other tribe or nation of Indians, or from any other person or persons whatever.

Sec. 7 And be it further enacted, That it shall and may be lawful for the President to have the same superintendence and care over any tribe or nation in the country to which they may remove, as contemplated by this act, that he is now authorized to have over them at their present places of residence: Provided, That nothing in this act contained shall be construed as authorizing or directing the violation of any existing treaty between the United States and any of the Indian tribes.

Sec. 8 And be it further enacted, That for the purpose of giving effect to the provisions of this act, the sum of five hundred thousand dollars is hereby appropriated, to be paid out of any money in the treasury, not otherwise appropriated.