building the american landscape - Univerza v Novi Gorici

arrels of pork meat>>, often approved , i.e. with political
manipulation 198 .
Andrew Jackson’s presidency polarised popular instincts by playing on his fame as a
heroe, which he had acquired during his military career and during the battles
against the English and the Indians. Jackson’s politics during his presidency from
1829 to 1837 had widened the Republican ideas of Jefferson. Jackson’s egalitarian
propaganda did not evoke the land (and therefore property), but had identified the
citizens’ right to vote and to express their feelings, which enhanced his role as
president of humble origins, elected by popular will. His policies, which focused on
the line to restrict action by the federal government in favour of initiatives by
individual states, made a decisive contribution to the push towards the West. One
of the most significant episodes was when Jackson decided not to intervene in the
dispute concerning the removal of the Cherokee Indians from their lands in Georgia.
According to a series of treaties dating back to 1791, the United States had
recognised, the Cherokees as the inhabitants of a true nation, with its own laws,
rights and customs. Recognition of this status was also linked to the civilised
condition of these Indians, who were part of the so‐called “Five Civilized Tribes”
(Cherokee, Chictaw, Creek, Chickasaw, Seminole). However, in 1828, following the
discovery of gold in their lands, the state of Georgia ignored the previous
agreements and deprived the Cherokees of their property. Despite an appeal by the
Indians to the Court of Appeal and their subsequent victory, Jackson did nothing to
bring the sentence in their favour into effect. On the contrary, he used the Indian
Removal Act of 1830 to encourage the removal under the threat of firearms of all
the Indian tribes to beyond the borders of the Mississipi, along what was known as
“the trail of tears (or literally “Trail Where They Cried”). Therefore, if on the one
hand, Jackson was the assertor of autonomy for the individual states, on the other
he proved to be a decided supporter of the Union, especially during protests by the
southern states, caused by the introduction of protectionist policies, which
198 JONES, A., Maldwyn, The Limits of Liberty American History 1607‐1992, London, Oxford University
Press, 1995 [first ed. 1983] (Italian translation Storia degli Stati Uniti d’ America. Dalle prime colonie
inglesi ai giorni nostri, Milan, Bompiani, 2011, p. 125)
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