Try the"American State Papers". Removal policy began with President Thomas Jefferson who said, "When we shall be full on this side, we may lay off a range of States on the western bank (of the Mississippi River) fro the head to the mouth, and so, range after range, advancing compactly as we (whites) multiply." (Source: Thomas Jefferson to John Breckenridge, August 12, 1803). In a letter he wrote to Andrew Jackson Feb. 16, 1803 he asserted that the primary reason for keeping Indian agents among the tribes was to obtain their land. He stated, ":Toward effecting this object we consider leading the Indians to agriculture....Where they shall cultivate small spots of earth and see how useless their extensive forests are, they will sell." Each Indian agent "shall be estimated by us in proportion to the benefits he can obtain for us." He ended his letter with the demand that his views "be pursued unremittingly." (Thomas Jefferson to Andrew Jackson, Feb.16, 1803 from "The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, Memorial Edition) Jefferson justified his position by claiming that vas lands were needed between the Appalachain Mts. and the Mississippi River "for defense", which he believed could only be possible with a large white population. He also used more odious methods of obtaining Indian lands, as enlarging the governments Indian "factories" in the various nations and encouraging the Indians to buy more and more goods on credit. When the Indians' debts became so burdensome that they could not possibly pay the total bill, the Indian agents were instructed to reveal that the United States government would magnanimously liquidate the debts by accepting land cessions. (Source:" A Complilation of the Mesages and Papers of the Presidents", Wash.D.C., 1807) There have been VOLUMES written on the US governments Indian policies under its various presidents. Your local library can point you in the right direction to conduct your personal research. dusty ----- Original Message ----- From: Patsy Caleb <studentarchaeologist@home.com> To: <CHAHTA-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, April 09, 2001 11:54 AM Subject: Re: [CHAHTA] FIVE CIVILIZED TRIBES > yeaah but where is the writtings and records tath that record all of this > i think it was under andrew jackson ? no? > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Lola Crane <lcrane@futureone.com> > To: <CHAHTA-L@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Sunday, April 08, 2001 10:47 PM > Subject: Re: [CHAHTA] FIVE CIVILIZED TRIBES > > > > If the White man had not wanted the Indian Land east of the Mississippi, > we > > would all be calling Mississippi, Tennessee, Georgia, etc, HOME. > > Lola > > > > Patsy Caleb wrote: > > > > > I saw a program on the history channel that is almost opposite to that. > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > > From: Dusty <dustyc@microgear.net> > > > To: <CHAHTA-L@rootsweb.com> > > > Sent: Sunday, April 08, 2001 9:16 PM > > > Subject: [CHAHTA] FIVE CIVILIZED TRIBES > > > > > > > The Five Civilized Tribes (Choctaw-Cherokee-Creek-Seminole-Chickasaw) > were > > > > called "civilized" by the government because they were not nomadic, > lived > > > in > > > > permanent communities, were amenable to European ideas and culture and > had > > > a > > > > representative, centralized form of government. They were removed to > > > Indian > > > > Territory because they held the most desirable lands throughout the > > > > southeast, and without removing them beyond the Mississippi River, > those > > > > lands could not be opened to encroaching white settlement. > > > > > > > > dusty > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ==== CHAHTA Mailing List ==== > > > > Markie and Fay's CHOCTAW-SOUTHEAST Home Page: > > > > http://freepages.cultures.rootsweb.com/~choctaw/ > > > > > > > > > > ==== CHAHTA Mailing List ==== > > > Choctaw Home Page: > > > http://freepages.cultures.rootsweb.com/~choctaw/ > > > > > > ==== CHAHTA Mailing List ==== > > Markie and Fay's CHOCTAW-SOUTHEAST Home Page: > > http://freepages.cultures.rootsweb.com/~choctaw/ > > > > > ==== CHAHTA Mailing List ==== > Choctaw Home Page: > http://freepages.cultures.rootsweb.com/~choctaw/ >