7: As Long as Grass Grows or Water Runs Flashcards
Fill in the blanks: George Washington’s Secretary of War, Henry Knox, said “The Indians, being the prior occupants possess the _____ __ ___ ____”
Right of the soil
Indian removal was necessary for the development of what?
The modern capitalist economy
Future president Andrew Jackson was known as the most aggressive what in early American history?
Enemy of the Indians
When the Creek War ended in 1814, Andrew Jackson was appointed treaty commissioner and took away half the land of the Creek nation (some of whom fought for him) in a cession described as this
The largest single Indian cession of Southern American land
Jackson’s 1814 treaty granted Indians this
Individual ownership of land
Describe one tactic used by Jackson to get Indian land
Encouraged whites to squat on Indian land, then told Indians they couldn’t remove the whites, so they’d better cede the land or be wiped out
Jackson’s land grabs provided space for these
Slave plantations
Andrew Jackson justified raids into Florida by claiming that it was a sanctuary for these (bonus: what secondary argument bears similarity to modern justifications for US imperialism)
Escaped slaves; bonus: Florida was essential to the defence of the United States
Which war led to the American acquisition of Florida, and what is the event referred to as in U.S. classrooms?
The Seminole War of 1818; the “Florida Purchase”
Which bill came before congress and was called “the leading measure” of the Jackson administration
The Indian Removal bill
Fill in the blanks: (This argument was made by Secretary of War and governor of Michigan Lewis Cass), “We must not regret the ________ of civilization and improvement, the triumph of industry and art, by which these regions have been reclaimed, and over which freedom, religion, and science are extending their sway”
Progress
True or False: The editor of the “North American Review” told Lewis Class that despite his statement that Indians would be safe beyond the Mississippi, in a few years this would be a lie
True
As soon as Andrew Jackson was appointed President, these three states passed laws doing away with the tribe as a legal unit, outlawing tribal meetings, taking away chiefs’ powers, making Indians subject to militia duty and state taxes, denying them the right to vote, bring suits, or testify in court, and diving up Indian land to be distributed by state lottery
Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi
Andrew Jackson promised Indians possession of their own land beyond Alabama and Mississippi for this amount of time
“as long as Grass grows or water runs”
Was the removal of the Indians instigated by the white frontiersmen or industrialization/capital expansion?
The latter
What was the 1832 ruling in “Worcester v. Georgia” that both Georgia and President Andrew Jackson ignored?
That the law which put Worcester in jail violated the treaty with the Cherokees, which was constitutionally binding
What showed evidence of Andrew Jackson’s hypocrisy when it came to state rights? (hint: 1832)
He let Georgia decide when it came to Indian removal but attacked South Carolina’s right to nullify a federal tariff
How long did it take the U.S. to violate the Treaty of Washington in 1832 and loot and violently force Indians off the land given to them as individuals?
Days
What excuse did governments use to force Creeks off of their lands in 1836?
That they had made “war” - i.e. a few random attacks had occurred by desperate Indians likely needing food or other supplies from settlers
What happened to the families of the 800 Creeks who agreed to fight for the U.S. against the Seminoles in return for shelter and safety for the former in Alabama?
They were attacked, robbed, raped, and driven from their homes, then removed by the government “for their safety” to a concentration camp on Mobile Bay where hundreds died of starvation and illness.
What happened to the aged steamer Monmouth carrying 611 crowded Indians across the Mississippi?
It went down and 311 Indians died, including the children of the Indian commander of Creek forces in Florida
True or False: Whig Daniel Webster staunchly opposed the war with the Seminoles and tried to block funds for it
True and False, he “opposed” the war but claimed that because of National defence reasons the bill should pass (in other words: party unity during wartime)
What happened to Seminole Chief Osceola upon waving a flag of truce during the Seminole war?
He was seized, put into irons, and died of illness in prison.
True or false: Despite the agreement of only 1/3 of Cherokees, a removal treaty was signed and ratified by the Georgia Senate
False, only 500/17,000 Cherokee showed up to sign it, but they were still forcibly removed from their land
The Trail of Tears refers to what event
The forced migration of the Cherokees from Georgia to west of the Mississippi, in which 4,000/17,000 died en route
Fill in the blanks: (President Van Buren) “It affords sincere pleasure to apprise the Congress of the entire removal of the Cherokee Nation of Indians to their homes west of the Mississippi. The measures authorized by Congress at its last session have had ___ _________ ______”
The happiest effect
