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The Monroe Doctrine was meant to dissuade the Spanish from attempting to recapture any of their former colonies in South America. It stated: "The American continents are henceforth not to be considered the subjects for future colonization by any European powers." |
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1830 Indian Removal Act
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The Indians in the South were constantly under pressure from white settlers. Only the federal government had the ability to protect the Indians. President Jackson removed that federal protection.
In 1830, the federal government passed the "Indian Removal Act," which allocated funds to negotiate with the Indians regarding their removal from the southern states. The state of Georgia attempted to use the Indian Removal Act to uproot the Indians in their state. In Worcester v. Georgia, the Supreme Court ruled that removal of Indians was illegal. Chief Justice John Marshall stated: "The several Indian nations were distinct political communities having territorial boundaries within which their authority is exclusive, and having rights to all land within those boundaries, which is not only acknowledged, but guaranteed by the United States." Georgia ignored the decision.
In an act that was uncharacteristic of Jackson's belief in a strong central government, he ignored the Supreme Court ruling, and made no attempt to stop Georgia's action. Jackson is reputed to have said: "John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it."
The federal government then began enforcing the Indian Removal Act by forcefully evicting 15,000 Indians from their land and compelling them, at gun point, to migrate to Oklahoma. The road to Oklahoma was named the "Trail of Tears." |
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