“Let’s not forget that was at the behest of the first Democratic President, Andrew Jackson.”
No it wasn’t. Andrew Jackson was a liberal when it came to policies towards indians. Liberal in the old sense of the word. While he believed that if indians were going to maintain tribal governments and not assimilate into the United States should relocate to Oklahoma, he did not care to send every indian to Oklahoma.
The Cherokee in Georgia had adopted white man’s religion, white man farming methods, owned slaves, and educated their children in white man’s schools. That wasn’t enough for the democratic government in Georgia, who, like modern democrats, based everything on the color of skin.
The Cherokee in Georgia brought the case before the US Supreme Court and won an overturning of the Georgia State Law. Jackson may have stated that the Supreme Court lacked any ability to enforce it’s decision, however it is also likely that he realized that he would not be able to raise an army in the rest of the states willing to stop Georgia from disposessing the Cherokee. It was the political reality he had to deal with.
Don't forget... the color of gold. Two years after it was discovered on Cherokee land, the "relocation" began.
My family's West Georgia homestead was land received by helping with the relocation. Some stayed in Oklahoma, and some came back.
I remembered seeing an old aerial photograph of the parcel used for surveying and you could clearly see a "line" delineated by trees and fields running through the property.
Turns out it was a disputed border between the Cherokees and the Creek.
My father said he used to find tons of arrowheads around there....I assume from skirmishes.