| Andrew Jackson | |
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| Born | March 15, 1767 Waxhaws border region between The Carolinas (exact location disputed) |
| Died | June 8, 1845 (aged 78) Nashville, Tennessee |
| Burial | The Hermitage Nashville, Tennessee |
| Spouse | Rachel Donelson |
| Children | Adopted Children Andrew Jackson Lyncoya Jackson John Samuel Donelson Daniel Smith Donelson Andrew Jackson Donelson Andrew Jackson Hutchings Carolina Butler Eliza Butler Edward Butler Anthony Butler |
| Father | Andrew Jackson |
| Mother | Elizabeth Hutchinson Jackson |
| Notary Positions | 7th U.S. President United States Senator from Tennessee (1823-1825) |
| Military | American Revolutionary War Creek War War of 1812 First Seminole War Conquest of Florida |
Joseph Smith on Andrew Jackson
On Jackson Administration
In continuation of such noble sentiments, General Jackson, upon his ascension to the great chair of the chief magistracy, said, “As long as our government is administered for the good of the people, and is regulated by their will; as long as it secures to us the rights of person and property, liberty of conscience, and of the press, it will be worth defending; and so long as it is worth defending, a patriotic militia will cover it with an impenetrable aegis.”
General Jackson’s administration may be denominated the acme of American glory, liberty, and prosperity; for the national debt, which in 1815, on account of the late war, was $125,000,000, and being lessened gradually, was paid up in his golden day; and preparations were made to distribute the surplus revenue among the several states; and that august patriot, to use his own words in his -farewell address, retired, leaving “a great people prosperous and happy, in the full enjoyment of liberty and peace, honored and respected by every nation in the world.” (General Smith’s Views of the Power and Policy of the Government, by Joseph Smith. Nauvoo, Illinois. Printed by John Taylor. 1844. General Smith’s Views of the Power and Policy of the Government)
President Jackson’s Indian Policies
Taken from History of the Church 2: 357
“Policy of the Government of the United States Respecting the Indians.
“The Book of Mormon has made known who Israel is, upon this continent. And while we behold the government of the United States gathering the Indians, and locating them upon lands to be their own, how sweet it is to think that they may one day be gathered by the Gospel! Our venerable President of these United States (Andrew Jackson) speaks of the Indians as follows:
“President Andrew Jackson’s Views on the Policy of the General Government with Reference to the Indians.
“The plan of removing the aboriginal people who yet remain within the settled portions of the United States, to the country west of the Mississippi River, approaches its consummation. It was adopted on the most mature consideration of the condition of this race, and ought to be persisted in till the object is accomplished, and prosecuted with as much vigor as a just regard to their circumstances will permit, and as far as their consent can be obtained. All preceding experiments for the improvement of the Indians have failed. It seems now to be an established fact, that they cannot live in contact with a civilized community and prosper. Ages of fruitless endeavors have at length brought us to a knowledge of this principle of intercommunication with them. The past we cannot recall, but the future we can provide for,
“Independently of the treaty stipulations into which we have entered with the various tribes for the usufructuary rights ceded to us, no one can doubt the moral duty of the government of the United States to protect, and, if possible, to preserve and perpetuate the scattered remnants of this race which are left within our borders. In the discharge of this duty, an extensive region in the west has been assigned for their permanent residence. It has been divided into districts, and allotted among them. Many have already removed, and others are preparing to go; and, with the exception of two small bands, living in Ohio and Indiana, not exceeding fifteen hundred persons, and of the Cherokees, all the tribes on the east side of the Mississippi, and extending from Lake Michigan to Florida, have entered into engagements which will lead to their transplantation.
“The plan for their removal and re-establishment is founded upon the knowledge we have gained of their character and habits, and has been dictated by a spirit of enlarged liberality. A territory exceeding in extent to that relinquished has been granted to each tribe. Of its climate, fertility, and capability to support an Indian population, the representations are highly favorable. To these districts the Indians are removed at the expense of the United States, and with certain supplies of clothing, arms, ammunition, and other indispensable articles; they are also furnished gratuitously with provisions for the period of a year after their arrival at their new homes. In that time, from the nature of the country, and of the products raised by them, they can subsist themselves by agricultural labor, if they choose to resort to that mode of life. If they do not, they are on the skirts of the great prairies, where countless herds of buffalo roam, and a short time suffices to adapt their own habits to the changes which a change of the animals destined for their food may require.
“Ample arrangements have also been made for the support of schools; in some instances, council houses and churches are to be erected, dwellings to be constructed for the chiefs, and mills for cotton use. Funds have been set apart for the maintenance of the poor, the most necessary mechanical arts have been introduced, and blacksmiths, gunsmiths, wheelwrights, millwrights, etc., are supported among them. Steel and iron, and sometime salt are purchased for them; and plows and other farming utensils.
“Domestic animals, looms, spinning wheels, cards, etc., are presented to them; and besides these beneficial arrangements, annuities are in all cases paid, amounting in some instances to more than thirty dollars for each individual of the tribe, and in all cases sufficiently great, if justly divided and prudently expended, to enable them, in addition to their own exertions, to live comfortably. And as a stimulus for exertion, it is now provided by law, that in all cases of the appointment of interpreters, or other persons employed for the benefit of the Indians, a preference shall be given to persons of Indian descent, if such can be found, who are properly qualified for the discharge of the duties.
“Such are the arrangements for the physical comfort and for the moral improvement of the Indians. The necessary measures for their political advancement and for their separation from our citizens have not been neglected. The pledge of the United States has been given by Congress, that the country designated for the residence of this people shall be “forever secured and guaranteed to them.” A country west of Missouri and Arkansas has been assigned to them, into which the white settlements are not to be pushed. No political communities can be formed in that extensive region, except those that are established by the Indians themselves, or by the United States for them and with their concurrence. A barrier has thus been raised for their protection against the encroachments of the citizens, and guarding the Indians as far as possible, from those evils which have brought them to their present condition.
“Summary authority has been given by law, to destroy all ardent spirits found in their country without waiting the doubtful result and slow process of a legal seizure.
“I consider the absolute and unconditional interdiction of this article, among these people, as the first great step in their amelioration. Halfway measures will answer no purpose. These cannot successfully contend against the cupidity of the seller and the overpowering appetite of the buyer; and the destructive effects of the traffic are marked in every page of the history of our Indian intercourse.
“Some general legislation seems necessary for the regulation of the relations which will exist in this new state of things between the government and people of the United States and those transplanted Indian tribes, and for the establishment among the latter, with their own consent, some of the principles of intercommunication which their juxtaposition will call for; that moral may be substituted for physical force; the authority of a few simple laws, for the tomahawk; and that an end may be put to those bloody wars, whose prosecution seems to have made a part of their social system.
“After the further detail of the arrangements are completed, with a very general supervision over them, they ought to be left to the progress of events. These, I indulge the hope, will secure their prosperity and improvement; and a large portion of the moral debt we owe them will be paid.
“In addition to the above, we extract the following from the report on Indian affairs, made to Congress at the present session. We add and arrange according to circumstances:
“The United Nation— Chippewas, Ottowas and Pottawatamies—about 1,000 in number, removed since September, 1834—possess 5,000,000 of acres of land on the east side of the Missouri and lying north-west of the north-west corner of Missouri [All these tribes may be rated at about 7,000] 1,000
“The Choctaws, about 19,000, in number, have 15,000,000 of acres, lying between the Red River and the Canadian 19,000
“A small band of Quapaws, 200 or 300, perhaps near 95,000 acres, between the western boundary of the State of Missouri and the eastern boundary of the Osages 300
“The Creeks, about 3,000 or 4,000, have 13,140,000 acres on Arkansas and Canadian rivers 4,000
“The Seminoles, and other Florida Indians, to the number of say 25,000, included as the owners of the above 13,140,000 acres 25,000
“The Cherokees, amounting to say 16,000, have 13,000,000 of acres, near the 36th degree of north latitude 16,000
“The Kickapoos, something less than 1,000, have 160,000 acres north of Fort Leavenworth 1,000
“The Delawares, nearly 1,000, have 200,000 acres west and south of the Kickapoos 1,000
“The Shawnees, 1,200 or 1,400, have 1,600,000 acres south side of Kansas River 1,400
“The Ottawas, about 200, have 30,000 acres south of the Shawnees 200
“The Weas, Pinkeshaws, Peoria, and Kashaskias, say 500 in all, have 260,000 acres south of the Shawnees 500
“The Senecas and Shawnees, say 500, have 100,000 acres on the western boundaries of the State of Missouri 500
“Of the native tribes west of the Mississippi, the report is as follows:
“Sioux 27,000; Iowas 12,00; Sacs of the Missouri 500; Omahas 1,400; Ottoes and Missourias 1,600; Pawnees 10,000; Camanches 7,000; Mandans 15,000; Minatares 15,000; Assinaboins 8,000; Crees 3,000; Gros Ventres 3,000; Crows 3,500; Quapaws 450; Caddoesfn 2,000; Poncas 800; Arickarees 3,000; Cheyennes 2,000; Blackfeet 30,000; Foxes 1,600; Anepahas, Kioways, etc 14,000; Osages 5,120; Kansa 1,471; Sacs 4,800”
Hopes of the Prophet in Behalf of the Indians.
The joy that we shall feel, in common with every honest American, and the joy that will eventually fill their bosoms on account of nationalizing the Indians, will be reward enough when it is shown that gathering them to themselves, and for themselves, to be associated with themselves, is a wise measure, and it reflects the highest honor upon our government. May they all be gathered in peace, and form a happy union among themselves, to which thousands may shout, Esto perpetua. (Joseph Smith, History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 7 vols., introduction and notes by B. H. Roberts [Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1932-1951], 2: 357.)
