America’s Most Shameful Moment President Jackson ordered Indian removal despite the Constitution, and this was very controversial between the Native Americans, general public, and law makers. Andrew Jackson most certainly did not have the right to order the removal of the Native Americans. Beside from ethics, his own government branch of the Supreme Court declared it illegal. John Marshall decided that the Cherokees had their own nation, and it would be wrong for the United States to claim the land of the Cherokee their own.
Jackson’s people, the people of the United States felt that they had the right to deal with the land however they pleased, but that was just opinion. Legally, he did not have the right to force Indian removal. Personally, I feel that Andrew Jackson should not have removed the Native Americans. The American Indians were on the land first, and were strongly attached to their land in a religious sense. The Indians did not at all want to “trade lands”.
Jackson acted like a bigot and a bully, forcing out the natives because he felt that they couldn’t have used the land as well as the civilized whites.
Without the Indian Removal Act, the U. S. would possibly be much smaller, poorer, and weaker as a nation. Economically, obviously, Jackson did the right thing. Ethically, though which really counts, it was an atrocious, horrible, nasty decision. Jackson should never have removed the Native Americans, and Americans today should be ashamed of this decision. Jackson argued that unless the Supreme Court could keep Indian removal from happening, it will happen anyway, with his approval. his proves that Andrew Jackson strongly felt that states should hold jurisdiction over the federal government.
He believed in a small federal government. Jackson felt that if the state of Georgia wanted to do the opposite of the law of the Supreme Court, then they have the right to. Jackson believed in keeping the federal government small, and was even willing to break a law and the Constitution to support his belief in government and U. S. power over Native Americans.