On Indian Removal

Content Warning: The source material references racial and ethnic prejudice and promotes ethnic cleansing.

“It gives me pleasure to announce to Congress that the benevolent policy of the Government, steadily pursued for nearly thirty years, in relation to the removal of the Indians beyond the white settlements is approaching to a happy consummation.”

In his opening remarks, Jackson connects his new policy to the standing policy of the federal government. By using the term “consummation,” he implies that his policy (which is much more explicitly racist) is a natural development—a final step to achieving a greater goal of The Expansion of American Culture.

“[...] it is believed that their example will induce the remaining tribes also to seek the same obvious advantages.”

Jackson argues that other tribes will agree to resettlement because two “important” tribes have already acquiesced to the government’s plans. This introduces the theme of Savagery Versus Civilization because it implies that Indigenous Americans can be made to understand the “advantages” of civilized American culture.

“The consequences of a speedy removal will be important to the United States, to individual States, and to the Indians themselves.”

Throughout the speech, Jackson argues that forced relocation will not merely benefit the United States government, US citizens, or American cultural identity. Rather, he focuses on the perceived benefits to the Indigenous people who, according to Jackson, now have the opportunity either to preserve their traditional way of life away from white settlers or to assimilate into American culture. He suggests that either option is preferable to the alternative: remaining in place and being “annihilated” by the inevitable tide of Western imperialism.