Question

In what ways did the Native Americans resist the Indian Removal Act?

Answer 1

There were two ways in which Native Americans resisted the Indian Removal Act of 1830: By fighting against U.S. Army and getting John Marshall support in trying to deal with the U.S. court system.

The Second Seminole War, which took place in Florida from 1835 to 1842, was the most important event regarding resistance of the Indian Removal Act. Several lifes were lost, including 3,000 Native Americans and 1,600 U.S military. After one year since the war ended, over 3,800 Seminoles were compelled to abandon their homes and move to Indian territories that now belong to Oklahoma.

In regards with the efforts to deal with the U.S court system, the most important case took place in 1832 (the case of Worcester v. Georgia), in which a group of white preachers who settled in territory of the Cherokee Nation dared a Georgia law that established it was forbidden for them to live there. Addressing the Supreme Court, Chief Justice John Marshall claimed that in the words of U.S Constitution, Cherokees were seen as equal as any other nation, and the relationship between the two countries must be the same. Thus, he ruled that these lands belonged only to Native American tribes and U.S government was not allowed to intervene in any way. Jackson ignored this ruling and continued with the removal of Native Americans in these territories, an event known as the "Trial of Tears".