The Cherokees vs. Andrew Jackson

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Specyalski 1 Connie Specyalski Mr. Larson USHD November 6, 2013 The Cherokees Stay, Mr. Jackson Dear America, Our nation as a whole is changing. With great progress in manufacturing, improvement in transportation, settling into western lands, and strengthening our democracy, it would be foolish to not try and expand American territory. Some of you would agree with Andrew Jackson, who deems it’s necessary to remove the Cherokees from their land. It is true that by having the Natives resettle in the West, it would benefit our nation by providing us with farmland as well as mining the land for gold. However, you must also take the Cherokees’ point of view into consideration. Some of them have already adopted many aspects of American culture, yet a reason we have for moving them is so that the Natives would be “saved” from having to conform to American society. So, not only are we having them give up their hard work and progress, but we are also stripping them from their home and replacing it with Western Territory that they are unfamiliar with. In a letter written to the Cherokee by Andrew Jackson, the President portrays himself like a selfless and gratuitous man who is providing the best accommodations he can for the Natives. “The United States have assigned to you a fertile and extensive country, with a very fine climate adapted to your habits, and with all the other natural advantages which you ought to desire or expect,” (Jackson). Providing fertile land gives the Cherokees an opportunity to strive in agriculture, but isn’t farmland what our nation wants to gain by pursuing the Natives’ territory? Specyalski 2 Why doesn’t our nation just expand westward instead of forcing the Cherokees to leave their homes? Another thing one should keep in mind is that we don’t know for sure if the land is as fertile as Jackson claims it to be. The President says that
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