As Long as Grass Grows or Water Runs

By Brittany Marmo

Indian Removal

• The United States was trying to take over the Indian land and some Indians were willing to live in peace and just follow the rules while others were determined to fight for their land.

• This was during the time that Andrew Jackson was in charge and he obtained the treated with the Indians.

• “He encouraged white squatters to move into Indian lands, and then told the Indians the government could not remove the whites and so they had better cede the lands or to be wiped out.” (Zinn, page 128-129)

Andrew Jackson

• Jackson’s goal was to expand and obtain the land. • He made the Indians believe that he had their best

interests at heart and that whatever he did was to help them out, when in reality, he wasn’t caring about their safety. Jackson was willing to do whatever he had to do to get what he wanted.

• “Jackson was a land speculator, merchant, slave trader, and the most aggressive enemy of the Indians in early American history.” (Zinn, page 127). This is why he was called “the evil” Jackson.

The Trail of Tears

Abuse in Military

• The use of military force was extremely important because this was destroying the Indians land and then harassing the Indians themselves.

• “If they chose to stay they would have to abide by state laws, which destroyed their tribal and personal rights and made them subject to endless harassment and invasion by white settlers coveting their land.” (Zinn, page 133)

• Different kinds of abuse were extremely common and this is what led to multiple killings and deaths.

Diseases and Illness

• Indians were forced out of their land and had to migrate, therefore, they started catching different illnesses on the way.

• “the first winter migration was one of the coldest on record and people began to die of pneumonia. In the summer a major Cholrea epidemic hit Mississippi and Choctaws died by the hundreds.”

• All of the fighting led to starvation and all of the starvation led to sickness.

• “As the American armies advanced, more battles were fought, more thousands died on both sides, more thousands were wounded, more thousands sick with diseases.” (Zinn, page. 165)

Mexican Takeover part 1

• The Mexican takeover was run by James Polk. • The United States wanted to take over Mexico to make this

beautiful place more of a civilized nation.• “The United States would be giving the blessings of liberty

and democracy to more people.” (Zinn, page 154.)• What they were trying to do was make the Mexican people

believe that they had a lot of potential and the only way they were going to be successful and to survive was to let the United States take over.

• This was obviously a lie, it was just a way for the United States to take over and get what they wanted.

Mexican Takeover part 2

• The difference between the Mexican takeover and the Indian removal was that the Mexicans really did have a chance at keeping their land. They had a chance to really try and stay where they were.

• The Mexicans were there to fight and they weren’t going to let anything get in the way of that.

• “The Mexicans had fired the last shot. But they had done what American government wanted…” (Zinn, page. 151)

Polk vs. Jackson

Polk vs. Jackson part 2

• There were major differences between these two men. Jackson was a compassionate but aggressive man. He was great at making the people believe that what he was doing was for the better interest of the people. He was known as a trusted guy.

• Polk was not trusted from the very beginning by the Mexicans. This is why the Mexicans decided to fight because they knew they couldn’t trust a word that he said. They had to take it upon themselves to protect their own land because they knew at any minute, Polk could disown them.

The White Settlers

• The white settlers didn’t understand that what they were doing was wrong.

• This caused racial separation between the Indians, the whites, and even the Mexicans.

• Jefferson said that the removal was “necessary for the opening for the vast American lands to agriculture… and the development of the modern capitalist economy. (Zinn, page. 126)

• This gave the Indians belief that these white Americans had their best interest at heart.

• They began these battles to insinuate losing power. They were extremely greedy and didn’t care about the expense of others.

The Actual Takeover

• The takeover was simpler than most due to the distance and the proximity of how close they were to the established lands.

• It was easy for the government to pass laws so this was easily applied to the Indians.

• These settlers didn’t even search too far for the land.• “If they chose to stay they would have to abide by

state laws, which destroyed their tribal and personal rights and made them subject to endless harassment and invasion by white settlers…” (Zinn, page. 133)

Help from the United States

• Some of these men volunteered to help the United States gain the land.

• The natives believed by helping the United States that this would help them survive.

• “Eight hundred Creek men had volunteered to help the United States army fight the Seminoles in Florida.” (Zinn, page. 143)

• The natives tried everything that they could do to try and avoid their own land being taken from them. They knew that by joining the United States, this gave them the chance at at least being able to keep their land.

Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson part 2

• Jefferson said that the Indians were to be left alone and that it should be the white people that should be removed from the land.

• When Jefferson became president, it was too late because the whites outnumbered the Indians 8 to 1.

• He had no choice but to agree with the majority and force the Indians out.

The Indian Fight

• The Indians fought with Americans to kick out their British for their independence.

• “Indian nation fought on the side of the British. The British signed for peace and went home; the Indians were already home, and so they continued fighting the Americans on the frontier, in a set of desperate holding operations.”

• The Indians tried really hard and put up a good fight but at the end of the day, they lost to the Americans.

Citation

• Zinn, Howard. A People's History of the United States: 1492-2001. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.