Date | December 6, 1831 |
---|---|
Venue | House Chamber, United States Capitol [1] |
Location | Washington, D.C. |
Coordinates | 38°53′23″N77°00′32″W / 38.88972°N 77.00889°W |
Type | State of the Union Address |
Participants | Andrew Jackson John C. Calhoun Andrew Stevenson |
Previous | 1830 State of the Union Address |
Next | 1832 State of the Union Address |
The 1831 State of the Union Address was delivered by the 7th president of the United States, Andrew Jackson, on December 6, 1831, to the 22nd United States Congress. In his third annual message, Jackson highlighted the continued prosperity of the United States, focusing on agricultural success, growth in manufacturing, and advancements in internal improvements. He credited these developments to the nation's free institutions and stressed the importance of maintaining the Union. [2]
Jackson noted that the nation was thriving in trade and commerce, with shipyards full of activity and American vessels trading across the globe. He also pointed to the rapid development of railroads and steam power, predicting that these technologies would soon bridge the vast distances within the United States, alleviating concerns about the Union's size threatening its stability. [2]
In foreign affairs, Jackson celebrated the successful negotiation of a treaty with France, which resolved longstanding claims of indemnity for American citizens whose ships were seized during the Napoleonic Wars. This treaty, Jackson asserted, would remove a significant source of tension between the two nations. He also reported progress on claims with other European nations, including Great Britain and Spain, and emphasized the importance of maintaining friendly and equitable relations with all foreign powers.
One of the key domestic issues addressed in the speech was the ongoing policy of Indian Removal. Jackson noted that treaties with the Chickasaw and Choctaw nations were being executed, leading to their removal west of the Mississippi River. He expressed hope that the Cherokee would soon follow suit, allowing for the complete settlement of Mississippi and Alabama by white settlers. Jackson framed this policy as both beneficial to the states and to the Native Americans, who he claimed would be better off away from the encroachment of white settlers. [2]
Jackson also touched on the federal budget, noting the government's strong financial position, with revenue exceeding expectations and allowing for substantial payments toward the national debt. He reiterated his support for a reduction in import duties once the debt was fully paid, advocating for a tariff that would protect American industries without placing undue burdens on consumers. [2]
Finally, Jackson restated his concerns about the Second Bank of the United States, leaving the issue to Congress and the people for further consideration, but reaffirming his opposition to the institution in its current form.
Andrew Jackson was the seventh president of the United States, serving from 1829 to 1837. Before his presidency, he gained fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses of the U.S. Congress. Often praised as an advocate for ordinary Americans and for his work in preserving the union of states, Jackson has also been criticized for his racial policies, particularly his treatment of Native Americans.
The Indian removal was the United States government's policy of ethnic cleansing through the forced displacement of self-governing tribes of American Indians from their ancestral homelands in the eastern United States to lands west of the Mississippi River—specifically, to a designated Indian Territory, which many scholars have labeled a genocide. The Indian Removal Act of 1830, the key law which authorized the removal of Native tribes, was signed into law by United States president Andrew Jackson on May 28, 1830. Although Jackson took a hard line on Indian removal, the law was primarily enforced during the Martin Van Buren administration. After the enactment of the Act, approximately 60,000 members of the Cherokee, Muscogee (Creek), Seminole, Chickasaw, and Choctaw nations were forcibly removed from their ancestral homelands, with thousands dying during the Trail of Tears.
The Trail of Tears was the forced displacement of approximately 60,000 people of the "Five Civilized Tribes" between 1830 and 1850, and the additional thousands of Native Americans and their enslaved African Americans within that were ethnically cleansed by the United States government.
The Indian Removal Act of 1830 was signed into law on May 28, 1830, by United States President Andrew Jackson. The law, as described by Congress, provided "for an exchange of lands with the Indians residing in any of the states or territories, and for their removal east of the river Mississippi". During the presidency of Jackson (1829–1837) and his successor Martin Van Buren (1837–1841) more than 60,000 Native Americans from at least 18 tribes were forced to move west of the Mississippi River where they were allocated new lands. The southern tribes were resettled mostly in Indian Territory (Oklahoma). The northern tribes were resettled initially in Kansas. With a few exceptions, the United States east of the Mississippi and south of the Great Lakes was emptied of its Native American population. The movement westward of indigenous tribes was characterized by a large number of deaths occasioned by the hardships of the journey.
The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek was a treaty which was signed on September 27, 1830, and proclaimed on February 24, 1831, between the Choctaw American Indian tribe and the United States Government. This treaty was the first removal treaty which was carried into effect under the Indian Removal Act. The treaty ceded about 11 million acres (45,000 km2) of the Choctaw Nation in what is now Mississippi in exchange for about 15 million acres (61,000 km2) in the Indian territory, now the state of Oklahoma. The principal Choctaw negotiators were Chief Greenwood LeFlore, Mosholatubbee, and Nittucachee; the U.S. negotiators were Colonel John Coffee and Secretary of War John Eaton.
Cherokee Nation v. Georgia, 30 U.S. 1 (1831), was a United States Supreme Court case. The Cherokee Nation sought a federal injunction against laws passed by the U.S. state of Georgia depriving them of rights within its boundaries, but the Supreme Court did not hear the case on its merits. It ruled that it had no original jurisdiction in the matter, as the Cherokees were a dependent nation, with a relationship to the United States like that of a "ward to its guardian," as said by Chief Justice Marshall.
The Treaty of New Echota was a treaty signed on December 29, 1835, in New Echota, Georgia, by officials of the United States government and representatives of a minority Cherokee political faction, the Treaty Party.
John Adams' First State of the Union Address was delivered on Wednesday, November 22, 1797, in the Congress Hall of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the time of the address, sickness was spreading through Philadelphia and Adams notes in his introduction that he was tempted to relocate the assembly of the national legislature but avoided this due to inevitable expense and general inconvenience.
The Treaty of Doak's Stand was signed on October 18, 1820 between the United States and the Choctaw Indian tribe. The Treaty of Doak's Stand was the seventh of nine major treaties that were ratified from the period from 1786 through 1866 between the United States government and the Choctaw nation during a time of rapid westward expansion of white settlers. Based on the terms of the accord, the Choctaw were forced to give up approximately 5 million acres or roughly one-third of their remaining Choctaw homeland in the east in exchange for 13 million westward acres in the Canadian Kiamichi, Arkansas, and Red River watersheds. The Choctaw reluctantly signed the agreement in an effort to maintain peace as they were threatened by the US commissioners that if they did not agree to move west, they would perish.
The presidency of Andrew Jackson began on March 4, 1829, when Andrew Jackson was inaugurated as President of the United States, and ended on March 4, 1837. Jackson, the seventh president, took office after defeating incumbent President John Quincy Adams in the bitterly contested 1828 presidential election. During the 1828 presidential campaign, Jackson founded the political force that coalesced into the Democratic Party during Jackson's presidency. Jackson won re-election in 1832, defeating National Republican candidate Henry Clay by a wide margin. He was succeeded by his hand-picked successor, Vice President Martin Van Buren, after Van Buren won the 1836 presidential election.
The presidency of James Monroe began on March 4, 1817, when James Monroe was inaugurated as President of the United States, and ended on March 4, 1825. Monroe, the fifth United States president, took office after winning the 1816 presidential election by an overwhelming margin over Federalist Rufus King. This election was the last in which the Federalists fielded a presidential candidate, and Monroe was unopposed in the 1820 presidential election. A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, Monroe was succeeded by his Secretary of State John Quincy Adams.
The Choctaw Trail of Tears was the attempted ethnic cleansing and relocation by the United States government of the Choctaw Nation from their country, referred to now as the Deep South, to lands west of the Mississippi River in Indian Territory in the 1830s by the United States government. A Choctaw Miko (chief) was quoted by the Arkansas Gazette as saying that the removal was a "trail of tears and death." Since removal, the Choctaw have developed since the 20th century as three federally recognized tribes: the largest, the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma; the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, and the Jena Band of Choctaw Indians in Louisiana.
The 1829 State of the Union Address was delivered by the 7th President of the United States, Andrew Jackson, on December 8, 1829, to the 21st United States Congress. This was Jackson's first address to Congress after his election, and it set the tone for his presidency, emphasizing limited government, states’ rights, and the removal of Native Americans from their lands.
The 1821 State of the Union Address was delivered by the 5th president of the United States James Monroe to the 17th United States Congress on December 3, 1821.
The 1822 State of the Union Address was delivered by the 5th president of the United States James Monroe to the 17th United States Congress on December 3, 1822.
The 1833 State of the Union Address was delivered by the 7th president of the United States, Andrew Jackson, on December 3, 1833, to the 23rd United States Congress. In this address, Jackson celebrated the nation's prosperity and expressed optimism about the continued peace and health of the country, as well as the flourishing of its commerce and industry.
The 1834 State of the Union Address was delivered by the 7th president of the United States, Andrew Jackson, to the 23rd United States Congress on December 1, 1834. Jackson highlighted the continued prosperity and peaceful conditions in the nation, praising the harvests and the flourishing commerce. He urged Congress to ensure that "virtue and enterprise" remained central to the country's development.
The 1835 State of the Union Address was delivered by the 7th president of the United States, Andrew Jackson, on December 8, 1835, to the 24th United States Congress. This was Jackson's seventh annual message, and he used it to reflect on both domestic successes and challenges as his presidency neared its conclusion. He emphasized the nation's growing prosperity, highlighting the "unexampled growth and prosperity" of the United States, and stressed the importance of unity to avoid the internal conflicts that had disrupted other nations.
The 1838 State of the Union Address was delivered by the 8th president of the United States Martin Van Buren to the 25th United States Congress on December 3, 1838. Van Buren presented an optimistic view of the nation's state, reflecting on fifty years of federal governance under the U.S. Constitution, which he described as a system preserving both "individual happiness" and "private interests." This year marked the nation’s half-century under the framework devised by the Founding Fathers, which Van Buren credited for the preservation of peace, liberty, and economic growth.
The 1839 State of the Union Address was delivered by the 8th president of the United States Martin Van Buren to the 26th United States Congress on December 2, 1839. Van Buren opened by noting that while the country had experienced several challenges, including fires, disease, and ongoing trade difficulties in key cities, the nation continued to benefit from prosperity in agriculture. He praised the season's abundant harvests, noting that “no means of individual comfort is more certain and no source of national prosperity is so sure” as agriculture.