Primary Source Spotlight: Indian Removal
These primary sources and teaching resources relate to the removal of Native Americans from their ancestral lands.
Documents related to the Indian Removal Act of 1830
- A Bill to provide for an exchange of lands with the Indians residing in any of the States or Territories, and for their removal West of the river Mississippi (S. 102) February 22, 1830
- Senate debated the above bill (S. 102) and then voted 28 to 19 to pass the Indian Removal Act April 24, 1830
- House of Representatives voted 102 to 97 to pass the Indian Removal Act May 26, 1830
- President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act into law May 28, 1830
- President Andrew Jackson outlined his Indian removal policy in his Second Annual Message to Congress (2nd paragraph, 2nd column) December 6, 1830
Cherokee Nation Denied Foreign Nation Status (Cherokee Nation v. The State of Georgia) 1831
Correspondence on the Emigration of Indians, 1831-33, Volumes I-V
Indian Land Cessions in the United States, 1784-1894
Map showing the lands assigned to emigrant Indians west of Arkansas and Missouri, 1836
Indian removal: historical newspaper coverage through 1839
Today in History: Chief John Ross & the Cherokee Nation
Today in History: Chief Joseph Surrenders
Native Americans in U.S. history online presentation
Native American Legal Struggles in Primary Sources Teaching with the Library of Congress blog November 4, 2014
Breaking the Bonds of People and Land: Native American Removal in the United States and Mexico streaming webcast
Primary source activities & lessons