What was American's mistaken view of the Native Americans, and how did that relate to American's acceptance of Jackson's relocation of Native American tribes to reservations west of the Mississippi River?

Answer :Andrew Jackson believed they had a right to decide where Indians lived. Law passed that moved all Indians west of the Mississippi River. American's viewed them as a conquered subject even though they were able to adopt white culture and become citizens

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To understand American's mistaken view of Native Americans and its relationship to Andrew Jackson's relocation policy, it is important to explore the history and context of this period.

1. The mistaken view of Native Americans: Many Americans held the belief that Native Americans were savage and uncivilized. They saw them as "noble savages," romanticized as a dying race of warriors and hunters. This erroneous perspective ignored the rich and diverse cultures, societies, and agricultural practices of Native American tribes.

2. Manifest Destiny: During the 19th century, the concept of Manifest Destiny became influential in the United States. Manifest Destiny was the belief that it was America's destiny to expand westward and settle the continent. This expansion would inevitably lead to conflict with Native American tribes inhabiting those lands.

3. Indian Removal Act of 1830: Andrew Jackson, the seventh president of the United States, played a significant role in the relocation of Native American tribes. In 1830, he signed the Indian Removal Act into law. This act empowered the federal government to negotiate treaties and forcibly relocate Native American tribes living in the Southeastern United States to lands west of the Mississippi River.

4. Justification for relocation: Jackson and his supporters justified this policy by claiming that removing Native Americans from their ancestral lands would protect them from increasing conflicts with white settlers, provide fertile territory for agricultural expansion, and allow Native Americans to preserve their culture away from the influences of white society.

5. Assimilation or removal: While some advocated for assimilation, believing that Native Americans could be "civilized" and integrated into white society, the dominant viewpoint was that of removal. This viewpoint stemmed from the perception that Native Americans were inferior and in need of "civilizing." It also reflected the desire to gain access to valuable Native American lands.

6. Trail of Tears: The most infamous episode resulting from Jackson's relocation policy was the forced removal of the Cherokee Nation, known as the Trail of Tears. Thousands of Cherokee people were forcibly removed from their ancestral lands in Georgia and forced to walk westward to present-day Oklahoma. The journey was arduous, and it resulted in the deaths of thousands due to starvation, exposure, and disease.

In conclusion, the mistaken view of Native Americans as savage and uncivilized, combined with the belief in Manifest Destiny and the desire for territorial expansion, justified Andrew Jackson's policy of relocating Native American tribes to reservations west of the Mississippi River. This policy ignored Native Americans' rights, culture, and sovereignty, leading to significant suffering and loss of life during the forced removals.