Congressional Act Appointing Commissioner of Indian Affairs (1832)

Commentary

By the 1820s, with the push to eliminate independent Indian tribes east of the Mississippi River, the foundations were being laid for U.S. Indian policy through the century and beyond. One of the major developments in this policy came about in a little noticed action by Secretary of War John C. Calhoun (1782–1850). Without obtaining authorization from Congress, in 1824 he established an Office of Indian Affairs. In practice, the War Department already had been handling most dealings with the Indian tribes. The army, after all, was the one branch of the government most likely to be in direct contact with them.

For eight years Congress took no action; but in 1832, when it appointed a Commissioner of Indian Affairs, it left the office within the War Department. This meant that U.S. Indian policy would henceforth speak...