THE IMPORTANCE OF THE REMOVAL

The removal took place in the early 19th Century in many forms. Some of the Native Americans were killed; others were removed by disease while others were relocated to other areas. The removal mainly came after the government policy that was adopted in 1830. It was not completely important for them to be relocated. It came about after the government signed a policy seeking to relocate the Indians to lands west of the Mississippi River. There were several reasons why it was found necessary to remove them from their lands[1].

First, the Indians were hunters and gatherers. The land they occupied was seen as a waste of resources as it would have been used alternatively by other Americans for Agriculture. However, the Indians, at the point of removal, had even started changing their ways so that they engaged in Agricultural activities[2].

Second, the States saw it as an emerging trend. Those states that implemented policies to remove the Indians were seen to be making progress in the right direction and hence motivated others to do the same. These acts also gave those States that wanted to do the same a lead and thereby made it easier[3].

Thirdly, the government used to allocate land according to the headright system. This method allowed every person to own up to 200 acres of land and every member of his family an additional 50 acres up to a maximum of 1000 acres. After the revolutionary war, some governors signed themselves large tracks of land. This led to a big reduction in the amount of available land. The land factor necessitated the removal of the Indians so as to make space for occupation[4].

References

Townsend, Kenneth W. & Mark A. Nicholas. First American: History of Native Peoples,  2013, pp. 208