Pick one (1) of the following topics. Then, address the corresponding questions/prompts for your selected topic. Use at least one (1) documented example of the corresponding primary source in your writing.
Pick one (1) of the following topics. Then, address the corresponding questions/prompts for your selected topic. Use at least one (1) documented example of the corresponding primary source in your writing.
Option 1: The American System, Transportation, and Communication Read the following primary source:
• Of Debates in Congress (Clay’s Debate of the American System in 1832) & (https://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collid=|Ird&file Name=011/Ird011.db&recNum=132)
(Click on “Next Image” to see all pages of the debate: pp.258-262.)
Then, address the following:
- Describe the idea of Henry Clay’s “American System.”
- Based on Clay’s economic vision of America, analyze how the American System would build the American market and economy?
- Analyze the role of mechanization and communication in the American System.
Option 2: The Indian Removal Act of 1830
Read the following primary source:
• Transcript of President Andrew Jackson’s Message to Congress ‘On Indian Removal’
(1830) __(https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=false&doc=25&page=transcript)
Then, address the following:
- Evaluate the rationale that President Jackson used in the removal of the Native Americans from east of the Mississippi River. Did the removal have the intended impact?
- Identify the responsibilities given to the President under the Indian Removal Act of 1830.
- Compare Jackson’s actions toward Native Americans in the context of his First Inaugural
Address with the path of events during the Trail of Tears. - Determine if the removal of the Native Americans from east of the Mississippi River violate the principles found in the Declaration of Independence?
Option 3: The Abolitionist Movement
Read the following primary source:
• Declaration of Sentiments of American Anti-Slavery Society_(1833) & (https://www.loc.gov/resource/rbpe. 11801100/?st=gallery.)(Click on arrows to view all images of the document. Click on plus and minus signs to enlarge or reduce size of images.)
Then, address the following:
- Assess if abolitionists were responsible reformers or irresponsible agitators?
- Explain how abolitionists upheld the Declaration of Independence as the foundation of antislavery and abolitionist thought.
- Assess the effect of the Gag Rule on the Abolitionist Movement.
- Analyze how the women’s rights movement would gain momentum from the antislavery movement.
Answer
NURSING HISTORY ESSAY
By: Essayicons.com
Jackson’s Rationale for the Removal of Native Americans
The Indigenous Americans were forcefully displaced from their ancestral lands with the support of Congress and President Andrew Jackson beginning in 1800. Jackson, on the other hand, gave Congress a set of reasons to justify the relocation of indigenous tribes from the eastern Mississippi River. To Jackson removing Native tribes from their lands would protect them from having contact with settlers and would be under the government’s protection. Jackson also argued that the displacement of Natives would benefit the country and all States. For example, it would avoid disputes between federal and state governments in the name of the Natives (National Archives, 2021). The policy would also provide more land to the civilized and Christian White settlers, strengthen the Southwestern States, and makes these states grow rapidly in terms of population, supremacy, and money. However, it is essential to note that the removal did more harm than good, as the process claimed thousands of Native Indians’ lives. For example, the relocation, which was recognized as the “Trail of Tears,” left approximately sixteen thousand Natives dead (National Archives, 2021). Unfortunately, the removal did not have the intended impact, as it destroyed the lives of Native tribes instead of protecting their future.
Jackson’s roles under the Indian Removal Act of 1830
The landmarking 1830 Act that displaced indigenous tribes gave several responsibilities to the President. The President was responsible for negotiating treaties with the tribes. The primary source indicates that “the Act authorized the President to negotiate removal treaties with Natives” (National Archives, 2021). For example, Jackson negotiated over seventy treaties like the famous Treaty of New Echota. The President was also responsible for providing aid in terms of resources needed to get rid of Indigenous tribes. For instance, the President provided three thousand troops to Winfield Scott, including the power to add more troops from the states or volunteers. The President’s responsibility also included enforcing the displacements as he was given the authority to use the military to remove the Native Americans forcefully.
Jackson’s “First Inaugural Address” vs. “the Trail of Tears”
During his opening address in 1829, the President’s actions inclined towards a harmonious coexistence and just treatment of indigenous tribes. The President vowed to respect and protect the Natives in terms of their rights and recognize their ownership of their native lands. Jackson asserted, “it will be my sincere desire to observe toward the Indian tribes within our limits a just and liberal policy, and to give that humane and considerate attention to their rights and their wants which is consistent with the habits of our Government and the feelings of our people” (Jackson, 1829). However, regarding the events during the “Trail of Tears,” his acts were contrary. The Indigenous Indians were forcefully and brutally relocated from their Natives lands with the help of the military. Consequently, thousands died from military encounters and the harsh and long journey to the West. Notably, these events are in contrast with Jackson’s initial action as it went against his prior principles.
Violation of the Declaration of Independence’s principles
The forceful removal of Indigenous tribes from the eastern Mississippi River went against the Declaration of Independence’s principles. For starters, the forceful relocation by the government, prompting the Trail of Tears, claimed thousands of Native American lives. Their deaths go against the right to life and the principle that the government is obligated to protect such liberty. The Declaration of Independence also preaches equality for all men. Contrarily, the displacement treated Native Indians as different. Hence it violates the principle. Furthermore, the decision to remove Native tribes contradicts their rights to own property. This goes against the principle of owning property and pursuing happiness, which is clearly spelled out in the Declaration of Independence. Fundamentally, the decision to displace indigenous tribes from their ancestral territories violates the aforementioned principles as the action contradicts the outlined principles.