The Indian Removal Act: Role And Moral Of Military In The Operation (Essay Sample)

Topic: INDIAN REMOVAL ACT Student Name Institutional Affiliation Abstract The Indian removal Act of 1830 that was in-acted by President Andrew Jackson by whose invitation the congress passed and invited the federal army to forcefully evict the Native Americans from their land. This act was meant to exchange the unsettled lands in Mississipi with Indian land in the state borders. Many people lost lives, thousands were exposed to harsh climatic conditions and diseases and as a result human rights were violated. The process of forceful removal of the Native Americans is what led to the Trial of Tears. This paper Endeavour’s to highlight an account that paints the real picture of the whole event. In addition it will look at the ethical implications of the actions of the US armed forces during the removal of the Cherokees nation and lastly bring to the limelight the core values that armed forces must consider before carrying out orders. President Andrew Jackson became famous in the year 1830 by enacting a controversial act commonly known as the ‘Indian removal Act’. This act enabled the president to grant unsettled land in Mississipi West in exchange for the lands existing within the state’s borders. Many people resisted the relocation directive while a few voluntarily left. Between 1838 to 1839 the cherokees resisted the relocation and a result there was forceful eviction that lead approximately 3,500 people dying as a result. This is what is now commonly known as the “trail of tears”. How did this act lead to the trail of tears? The Cherokee Nation was against the relocation as a result congress and the invitation of President Andrew Jackson forced them to vacate their land despite an earlier U.S Supreme Court ruling that had granted them rights to stay in their land. In the year 1838 the federal troops were called to forcefully evict the Native Americans from their land. The term used for this forceful eviction was “escort” as a result over 16,000 people were moved out of their homes and over 1/3 of this population died (Rose, 1998). This event of forceful eviction by the federal forces is what the Cherokees call “The Trial where they Cried” also referred to as the “Trail of Tears” by many others and publishers. The story by Elizabeth Watts touched me the most. Her vivid account on how on their mistreatment by soldiers as if they were objects is heartbreaking. The painful match on foot during winter was unbearable. Soldiers searching the graves and dead people for Jewellery and other precious ornaments paints a gruel picture of how the Indian removal act as inhumane. The US army did not use ethical means to remove the Cherokees from their Land. This ca...