Andrew Jackson: Bully?

He did not fear the use and enforcement of violence to prove his points and acquire what he thought necessary. Public opinion was not a large concern of his at all. Jackson almost always sought to implement what he wanted personally rather than what may have been more beneficial for the country. .
             The most controversial decision made by Andrew Jackson during his presidency was his role in the Indian Removal Act. In May of 1830 the U.S. Congress voted in favor of this act. The removal of Natives from their lands in the east to Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) became an important part of national Indian policy. During the1830s and 1840s the U.S. Army forced thousands of natives and their families to leave their belongings and move west of the Mississippi to present day Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska and Oklahoma. Andrew Jackson, in 1830, signed the law, and he demanded that the natives resettle west of the Mississippi. The act of 1830 gave the president authority to designate specific lands for natives, and in 1834 Congress formally approved this choice. The new territory consisted of specific boundaries that restricted the Indians free will. The Cherokee Indians of northwestern Georgia created their own constitution that attempted to save their tribe. Within the document the Cherokees where said to be sovereign and not subject to Georgia law. This was a peaceful attempt to protect against removal. When resistance against government enforcement became a problem, Jackson had no fear using threats and violence to force them off their land. Some tribes, such as the Seminoles, were so resistant that government efforts then included peace treaties. Although the treaties were negotiated, Jackson disagreed with the action. Jackson perceived Indians as subjects of the U.S. and he felt he should not have to negotiate treaties. Taking land should be the right of a master (U.S.) vs. slave (natives).