DTW GED PREP

Following the War of 1812, U.S. military officer Andrew Jackson played a pivotal role in the United States’ expansion into Native American territories. In a decisive campaign against the Creek Native Americans in what is now Alabama, Jackson and his forces defeated the Creeks, forcing them to cede approximately 22 million acres of land in Georgia and Alabama to the United States. This victory set the stage for Jackson’s continued efforts to acquire Native American land. Soon after, Jackson invaded Spanish Florida to combat the Seminoles, securing even more territory in the region. These actions underscored the United States’ aggressive expansionist policies during this era.

Between 1814 and 1824, Jackson negotiated numerous treaties with Native American tribes. Under these agreements, Native Americans relinquished their ancestral lands in the southeastern United States in exchange for land in the western territories. Among these tribes, the Cherokee, who primarily inhabited Georgia and surrounding areas, sought legal protection to maintain their lands. They appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ultimately ruled in 1831 that the Cherokee had the right to self-governance and that Georgia’s state laws did not apply to them. Despite this legal victory, the state of Georgia refused to honor the Court’s decision, and Andrew Jackson, who had by then become President, declined to enforce it, undermining the judiciary’s authority.

Shortly after Jackson assumed the presidency, Congress passed the Indian Removal Act, which authorized the forced relocation of Native American tribes living east of the Mississippi River to designated “Indian Territory” in the West. While some tribes, such as the majority of the Seminoles in Florida, resisted this policy, their opposition led to prolonged military conflicts known as the Seminole Wars. These wars resulted in the eventual removal of the Seminoles, with the U.S. government paying the remaining members to move westward.

The Cherokee faced a particularly tragic fate. Although a small faction of the tribe signed a treaty permitting their removal, the majority of the Cherokee opposed relocation and refused to leave their lands. When the treaty’s deadline passed, U.S. troops forcibly expelled approximately 16,000 Cherokee from their homes. Their westward journey, known as the Trail of Tears, became infamous for its harsh conditions, which caused the deaths of about 4,000 Cherokee due to starvation, exposure, and disease. This forced migration symbolized the devastating consequences of Jackson’s policies for Native American communities.

By 1837, Jackson’s administration had expelled a total of 46,000 Native Americans from their ancestral lands in the East, clearing 25 million acres for white settlers. While this expansionist policy significantly increased the territory available for settlement, it came at a profound human and cultural cost, leaving a legacy of suffering and displacement for Native American tribes. Jackson’s actions reflected the broader national attitude of manifest destiny, prioritizing territorial expansion over the rights and sovereignty of indigenous peoples.

U.S. POLICY TOWARD NATIVE AMERICANS

Directions: Choose the best answer to each of the following questions.

 1.  Read the following passage, and then answer the question.

 The instrument in question is not the act of our Nation; we are not

 parties to its covenants; it has not received the sanction of our

 people. The makers of it sustain no office nor appointment in our

 Nation, under the designation of Chiefs, Head men, or any other

 title, by which they hold, or could acquire, authority to assume the

 reins of Government, and to make bargain and sale of our rights,

 our possessions, and our common country. And we are constrained

 solemnly to declare, that we cannot but contemplate the

 enforcement of the stipulations of this instrument on us, against our

 consent, as an act of injustice and oppression, which, we are well

 persuaded, can never knowingly be countenanced by the

 Government and people of the United States; nor can we believe it

 to be the design of these honorable and high minded individuals,

 who stand at the head of the Govt., to bind a whole Nation, by the

 acts of a few unauthorized individuals. And, therefore, we, the

 parties to be affected by the result, appeal with confidence to the

 justice, the magnanimity, the compassion, of your honorable

 bodies, against the enforcement, on us, of the provisions of a

 compact, in the formation of which we have had no agency.

 —Excerpt from a letter by Cherokee Chief John Ross to the

 Senate and House of Representatives in 1836,

 describing the treaty signed by a minority of the tribe,

 authorizing removal of the Cherokee to the West

 Which reflects the opinion of the author?

 A.   The Cherokee people have been treated unfairly.

 B.   The Cherokee accept the treaty and believe it to be fair.

 C.   The Cherokee are eager to move to the West.

 D.   The U.S. government will not help the Cherokee.

2.  The American lawmakers who enacted the Indian Removal Act most

 likely believed which of the following?

 A.   Native Americans can stay in the Southeastern states.

 B.   Native Americans will benefit from moving to a new territory.

 C.   The land in the West is better for Native Americans than the land

 in the Southeast.

 D.   The United States has more rights to the land in the Southeast than

 the Native Americans do

1. Which reflects the opinion of the author?

“…we cannot but contemplate the enforcement of the stipulations of this instrument on us, against our consent, as an act of injustice and oppression…”

✅ Correct Answer: A. The Cherokee people have been treated unfairly.

Explanation:
Cherokee Chief John Ross argues that the treaty allowing removal was not authorized by the Cherokee people, and that enforcing it would be unjust. His tone expresses strong opposition, resentment, and appeals to justice, making it clear that he believes the Cherokee have been wronged.

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2. The American lawmakers who enacted the Indian Removal Act most likely believed which of the following?

✅ Correct Answer: D. The United States has more rights to the land in the Southeast than the Native Americans do.

Explanation:
While some lawmakers claimed Native Americans might benefit from relocation, the primary motivation behind the Indian Removal Act was that white settlers and the U.S. government believed they had greater entitlement to the land. The policy was designed to free up land in the Southeast for settlement and economic use by Americans.