In 1830 Congress passed one of the most significant laws regarding Native Americans in United States history. The effects of the Indian Removal Act of 1830 would prove devastating for the indigenous population and their way of life. The loss of land and sovereignty was one of the most important effects. The culture, traditions, and economics of the Native Americans were directly impacted by this displacement and a long term distrust of the United States government would prevail due to these negative outcomes, broken promises, and forced assimilation.
Edward Everett, "Speeches on the Passage of the Bill for the Removal of the Indians Delivered in the Congress of the United States" (Boston, 1830) in Native American Voices: A History and Anthology, ed. Steven Mintz (St. James, New York: Brandywine P, 1995), 114.
"The evil, Sir, is enormous; the inevitable suffering incalculable. Do not stain the fair fame of the country. . . . Nations of dependent Indians, against their will, under color of law, are driven from their homes into the wilderness. You cannot explain it; you cannot reason it away. . . . Our friends will view this measure with sorrow, and our enemies alone with joy. And we ourselves, Sir, when the interests and passions of the day are past, shall look back upon it, I fear, with self-reproach, and a regret as bitter as unavailing." (Everett)