Page 265 - American Stories, A History of the United States

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ANDreW JACksoN Jackson's resigning cabinet members were, according to this cartoon, rats deserting
a falling house. Jackson is seated on a collapsing chair, while the “altar of reform” and “public confidence in the
stability of this administration” pillars topple to his left, and “resignations” flutter behind him. The President's foot is
on the tail of the Secretary of State Martin van Buren rat.
rapidly and thoroughly it should be carried out and by what means. Georgia, Alabama,
and Mississippi were clamoring for action.
Immediately after Jackson’s election, Georgia extended its state laws over the Cherokee
within its borders. Georgia declared that all Cherokee laws and customs were null and void,
made all white people living in the Cherokee Nation subject to Georgia’s laws, declared
the Cherokee mere tenants at will on their land, and made it a crime for any Cherokee
to try to influence another Cherokee to stay in Georgia. State officials also authorized the
Georgia militia to use violence against the Cherokee to pressure them to give up their land
and move west. Before Jackson’s inauguration, Alabama and Mississippi also abolished the
sovereignty of the Creeks and Choctaw, and declared state control of the tribes.
This legislation defied both the constitutional provisions giving the federal gov-
ernment exclusive jurisdiction over Indian affairs and specific treaties. But Jackson
endorsed the state actions. He regarded Indians as children when they did the white
man’s bidding and savage beasts when they resisted. He was also aware of his politi-
cal debt to the land-hungry states of the South. Consequently, in December 1829, he
advocated a new and more coercive removal policy. Denying Cherokee autonomy, he
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