Opinion: Democratic president was responsible for the Trail of Tears

Monday, February 7, 2011  

"The flexibility required for a despotic ruler or ruling class to completely execute his or their will and enslave a populace is thwarted when the power of the law supersedes any human leader. This is precisely why a rock-solid national constitution is imperative, and why it must be protected at all costs.

This precept has been tested many times in America's history. Pro-slavery, anti-Native American Democrat Andrew Jackson (a progressive precursor) instituted the "Indian Removal Act," forcing Native Americans out of the U.S. and into the territories of the west. When the Cherokee tribe resisted being removed from their lands in Georgia, they took their case to the Supreme Court. The Court ruled against President Jackson, who promptly refused to abide by the decision. Of the chief justice, he said, "John Marshall has made his decision; let him enforce it now if he can."

The forced migration continued unabated, resulting in the deaths of four thousand Cherokees by starvation and disease during the infamous "Trail of Tears.""

Get the Story:
Andrew Thomas: The Progressive Disdain for the Rule of Law (The American Thinker 2/5)