National Mood

Hitchcock's pro-Indian sentiments were not unusual for the time. Citizens of the young republic expressed strongly mixed feelings toward the treatment of Native Americans, even as they systematically dispossessed them of their land. Many citizens opposed Jackson's removal policy. Satirists registered their feelings in cartoons like "The Grand Caravan Heading East," which showed caged Indian chiefs ironically singing "Home / Sweet Home," as candidate Jackson carted them around in a campaign parade.