Final answer:
Andrew Jackson had various methods to access Native lands, primarily through the Indian Removal Act of 1830. This act, coupled with his presidential authority and the support of a majority of White citizens, allowed him to pursue the removal of Native American tribes under the guise of progress. Despite criticisms and ethical challenges, Jackson remained steadfast in this policy.
Step-by-step explanation:
Options for Andrew Jackson to Gain Access to Native Lands
As President Andrew Jackson, the primary method to gain access to Native lands was through the enforcement of the Indian Removal Act of 1830. Jackson, with his background as an Indian fighter, believed in the necessity of removing Native American tribes such as the Cherokee and Creek from their lands east of the Mississippi River to territories further west. While the act theoretically permitted voluntary removal, in practice, there was significant pressure placed on tribes, particularly from southern states desiring the lands occupied by the Five Civilized Tribes: the Cherokee, Creek (Muskogee), Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Seminole.
Pro-Jackson newspapers and many White citizens who held a deep-seated animosity toward Native Americans supported Jackson's policies. Despite opposition from a range of critics, such as Secretary Knox and reformer Helen Hunt Jackson, who documented abuses and treaty breaches in her book A Century of Dishonor, Jackson's administration moved forward with what many viewed as a policy of ethnic cleansing. The Indian Removal Act, championed by Jackson, was seen as a means to open land for White settlement and eradicate Native presence to further White civilization.
In addition to the formal act, Jackson's approach to presidential power was also criticized as an abuse, notably in his refusal to enforce Supreme Court decisions that were in the Indians' favor, leading to a unilateral abrogation of treaties and forced relocations that were not explicitly mandated by Congress.