It will separate the Indians from immediate contact with settlements of whites, free them from the power of the States, enable them to pursue happiness in their own way, & under their own rude institutions.
. perhaps, cause them gradually, under the protection of the Government, and through the influence of good counsels, to cast off their savage habits, and become an interesting, civilized and christian community.
President Andrew Jackson believed that removal was in tribes’ best interest. But, many Native Americans referred to President Jackson, whom they formerly admired, as “the Devil.” Jackson’s message to Congress justified the removal policy already established by the Indian Removal Act of May 28, 1830.
National Archives, Records of the U.S. Senate
