Native American Diplomacy

During Jackson's presidency he instated the Indian Removal act in 1830 stating that Cherokees, occupying land in Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama must move to Oklahoma in order to use their land for farming. This march was 2,200 miles long and 4000 out of the 15000 died along the way. This march is known today as the trail of tears. When this was committed, it turned the heads of foreign political leaders such as Alexis de Tocqueville of France, seeing the Native people as peaceful and Americans barbaric in their treatment.

Other conflicts occurred too, one of the most famous battles which sprang from Sioux and Cheyenne seeing the intrusion of Americans on their sacred land in the Black Hills. This ended in the defeat of General Custer and increased tension between the US and the natives. Fourteen years later the massacre of Wounded Knee occurred when American officers saw the ghost dance, a dance to bring back the buffalo, and were alarmed and demanded fire arms from the natives and when resistance occurred a one sided battle ensued and 150 unarmed men, women, and children were dead.