In the years following the War of 1812, Native Americans east of the Mississippi began to face an incredible amount of pressure from white settlers who invaded their lands. This land hunger, coupled with an anti-Indian cabinet in the White House, would lead to the persecution and eventual removal of Indian groups east of the Mississippi. Perhaps the most important Indian group affected by removal was the Cherokee of Georgia and Alabama. The actions of the U.S. government and the Cherokee during this period would have far-reaching consequences that would affect U.S.-India relations for the next several decades. This critical period in U.S. history would become known as the Era of Removal. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay To examine the reasons why the removal of the Cherokee occurred, we must look separately at the different groups that pushed for the removal. The most influential group in forcing the removal of the Cherokee was both the legislature and citizens of the state of Georgia. The primary reason for the pressure to move away from Georgia was the fact that a significant portion of the accepted Cherokee land was located within Georgia's borders. This would avoid two problems for the Georgia Legislature. First, the fact that part of Georgia's acreage was claimed as Indian land, greatly hindered the rapid growth of the Georgian population in their efforts to continue and expand Western settlement within their state. Many, including Chief Justice John Marshall, believed that the Cherokees were entitled to this land, thus making it unavailable to Georgia settlers. In his ruling on Cherokee sovereignty Marshall stated that “the Indian nations possessed a full right to the lands which they occupied, until such right should be extinguished by the United States, with their consent: that their territory was separate from that of any state within which established limits in which they could reside.” (82) This not only slowed the progress of the growing state, but also put a lot of pressure on the Georgian parliament from the state's land-hungry citizens. The other problem that Cherokee land caused the Georgia legislature was the fact that the Cherokee Nation considered itself sovereign and therefore had no obligation to the laws of the state. There are several examples within the Cherokee Constitution where this is shown, including Sec. 15 where it states: “The General Council will have the power to issue all laws and regulations it deems necessary and appropriate for the good of the Nation”. (64) This section of the Constitution shows how the Cherokee considered themselves a completely sovereign nation and therefore not limited by the laws established by the state of Georgia. Statements such as these would have greatly angered the Georgia legislature and influenced them to speed up the removal of the Cherokees. Those are the two main reasons why the state of Georgia favored removal. One surprising group that favored removal was a significant fraction of the Cherokee people themselves. This is interesting because it shows how a portion of the Cherokee population believed that removal would be better for them as a people. These movers believed they could no longer survive in their current land due to the pressures imposed on them by Georgia. In Georgia's attempt to force the removal of the Cherokee, many laws were passeddiscriminatory against the Cherokee. For example, the legislature passed a law stating that “it shall not be lawful for any person or persons under pretense of authority of the Cherokee Tribe to meet or assemble in council for the purpose of making laws or regulations for said tribe.” (78) The document then provides a means of punishment for those who violate this code: “imprisonment in a penitentiary institution with forced labor for a period of four years”. (78) Laws like this were intended to harass the Cherokee to the point of forcing them to accept removal. Discriminatory laws like these are one reason why many Cherokees favored removal. The final party that influenced the removal was the federal government and more specifically the cabinet of President Andrew Jackson. One of the main reasons the national government favored removal was the portrayal of the Cherokee as savages. This is described by an influential Cherokee John Ridge in his letter to a federal official when he states that "the Indians are not addicted to revenge as they have been represented." (42) This quote shows an attempt by Ridge to disprove the stereotype of the natives as bloodthirsty savages. Ridge would go on to say, “As far as intemperance is concerned, we as a nation are gravely degraded.” (42) These quotes show how the Cherokee were often considered subordinate peoples during this time period. These negative stereotypes would provide the national government with justification for their removal west of the Mississippi. With all the pressure to move west of the Mississippi, many Cherokees would seek to remain steadfast in their homeland. Their reasons for opposing the idea of ​​removal varied greatly. One reason many Cherokees opposed the removal was that they had seen the terrible hardships faced by other Native groups as they journeyed west of the Mississippi. These tribes were often subject to disease, adverse weather conditions, lack of supplies, and a host of other hardships. This would result in an incredible loss of life on their journey west. These difficulties would also be important during the removal of the Cherokee. An example of this is shown by a Cherokee child, Rebecca Neugin, as she later recalled the terrible journey west. “When the soldiers came to our house my father wanted to fight, but someone told him that the soldiers would kill him if he did so and we surrendered.” (179) As demonstrated by this, most of the soldiers on this journey were far more concerned with completing their mission than with ensuring the well-being of the Cherokee. Rebecca would go on to describe some of the hardships she witnessed on the journey west: “There were many diseases among the emigrants, and many children were dying of whooping cough.” (179) Disease was one of the many dangers faced by those on the Trail of Tears, and by the time the removal was complete nearly a quarter of the Cherokee population had died. The terrible hardships faced by those going west were one reason many Cherokees would oppose the removal. Another reason many Cherokees opposed removal is that they were encouraged by the Supreme Court's decision in Worchester v. Georgia. In this case, a missionary stationed in Cherokee country refused to comply with Georgia law because he was under the authority of the Cherokee Nation. Siding with Worchester, the Supreme Court recognized that the Cherokee were sovereign and therefore not subject to Georgia state law. In justifying his decision John Marshall would state that “the citizens of Georgia do not have.