An Analysis of Robert V. Remini's Andrew Jackson Versus the Cherokee Nation - Essay Example

Their rationale was that since “they no longer threatened white settlements,” then they should not be expelled from their lands in Georgia and relocated to the Indian territory, which is located in present-day Oklahoma (48). In addition to this national sentiment against the proposed Indian Removal Act, various individuals that politically represented the Cherokees – John Ross, John Ridge and Major Ridge – sought audience with Jackson on a possible compromise regarding the looming Indian removal, but to no avail (51-53).

Perhaps, two other instances that showed the resolve of the Cherokees was when a number of Cherokee chiefs went to Washington in an effort to prevent the signing of the treaty, and when John Ross encouraged the Indians to ignore the newly signed treaty (53-56). Although the author does not mention it, the Cherokees were partly to blame for what happened to them two years after the Indian Removal Act was signed. Had they only remained obedient to Jackson and the laws of the state, the bloodshed of 1838 would not have been as worse.

Much of the blame also rested upon John Ross. Unlike his contemporaries John Ridge and Major Ridge, who were more liberal-minded and were willing to make compromises with the government, John Ross approached the issue rather conservatively and “acted imprudently and made impossible demands on the President” (52). Among the rather outrageous requests of Ross in behalf of the Cherokee people included a five-year protection of the Indians using federal troops as well as $20 million for the “reimbursement for losses” (53).

Even after Jackson’s rejection of such requests, Ross remained stubborn and encouraged the Indians to remain in their territory even after the two-year deadline had elapsed (55-56). It was, however, the Indians themselves who suffered the consequences as many of them were slaughtered by federal troops and many more suffered in “The Trail of Tears” (56). If only Ross had not maintained his pride and had only explained to his people the wisdom in obedience, the Cherokees would not have been massacred and would even have perhaps thanked Ross for it.

The author, however, puts the blame lightly on the Cherokees and Ross and somehow considers Andrew Jackson the man behind the murders: “He had become obsessed about removal” (56). Sharp Knife, as Jackson was called by the Cherokees, despite the ruling of the Supreme Court in 1831, perhaps influenced the passing of the law in 1830 “prohibiting white men from entering an Indian country” (48). Jackson also asked Schermerhorn to secretly negotiate the treaty with the Treaty Party of the Cherokees in an effort to advance the signing of the Indian Removal Act (53).

Moreover, Jackson did not show any mercy or concern for the large delegation of Indian chiefs who went to Washington in 1835 (53-54). Lastly, the man who called himself the “Great Father” of the Indians was the one who “regularly badgered [President] Van Buren about enforcing the treaty” (56). These were all proofs that Andrew Jackson did not play the game fairly and tried to outsmart the Cherokees by resorting to secret tactics just to have the treaty signed and have the Indians removed in no time.