1. Indian Removal

2. Sovereignty Take a minute to think about the meaning of this word
Talk to someone next to you about what they think it means
Do you both agree on the meaning?
“A country’s independent authority and right to govern itself” (Merriam-Webster)

3. John Marshall
John Marshall was the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
He served from 1801 to 1835
Three of his decisions had to do with Indian sovereignty

4. The Marshall Trilogy
Johnson v McIntosh (1823) –Indians did not have the right to sell their land without permission from the U.S. government
Cherokee Nation v Georgia (1831) –It was decided that Indians were not citizens or their own foreign nation but rather “domestic dependent nations” that were wards and the government the guardian
Worcester v Georgia (1832) –Made it so that the Federal Government not the state government had jurisdiction over Indian tribes

5. Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson fought in many wars with various tribes before he became President
He helped invade Spanish Florida partially as punishment for the Seminoles who harbored fugitive slaves
As president, Jackson was a huge proponent of Indian removal and under him the Indian Removal Act of 1830 was passed.

6. Indian Removal Act
This act made it so that the president could move Indians to lands west of the Mississippi in exchange for their lands in the states
The removal was supposed to voluntary and peaceful
People thought they wouldn’t settle past the Mississippi so that would be a good place for Indians to live peacefully
Some Indians went willingly others did not

7. The Trail of Tears
In 1833 a small faction of Cherokee signed a treaty with the government agreeing to leave the land
The majority of the Cherokee did not recognize those who signed the treaty as leaders of the Cherokee Nation and 15,000 of them along with their chief signed a petition in protest which the Supreme Court ignored
The Cherokee refused to leave their land in Georgia

8. The Trail of Tears
By 1838 there were still 16,000 Cherokee on their land
7,000 U.S. soldiers were sent to remove them without warning
The Cherokee didn’t have time to gather food or supplies before they were forced to leave
They were forced to march about 2,200 miles through during winter to their new lands
About 4,000 people died along the way from starvation, cold, and disease

9. Trail of Tears