Ryan Spring

Indian agents knew the strengths and weaknesses of the Choctaw people.

And so in 1820, who did they send to force us to sign a treaty?

They sent Andrew Jackson himself.

And so the concept of assimilating peoples, well, they're not assimilating fast enough.

So let's move them farther west so they have time to assimilate.

And they can become a new generation of American people.

I'm not sure if they really cared about us assimilating as much as they wanted all of the invaluable natural resources that were in the Choctaw Nation.

I think the Indian Removal Act...

was the weapon.

It was the implement that was used to justify it.

But the architecture for the Indian Removal Act came from federal court cases, which would be later called the Marshall Trilogy.

I see.

And so the Marshall Trilogy ruled that this type of thinking is acceptable.

And then the Indian Removal Act, which barely, barely, narrowly passed Congress, was then passed.

And so after the Indian Removal Act, negotiators were sent out to all these different tribes in the Southeast.

But there was a particular push for Choctaws to be the first to sign this treaty.

Why is that?

Well, in 1830, after the Indian Removal Act was passed...

We had Choctaw leaders that were fighting against removal.

They were fighting against this thought of removal.