President Andrew Jackson on his Seventh Annual Message to Congress dated December 7, 1835, concerning the Indian Removal Act, saying, "No one can doubt the moral duty of the Government of the United States to protect and if possible to preserve and perpetuate the scattered remnants of this race which are left within our borders. In the discharge of this duty an extensive region in the West has been assigned for their permanent residence. It has been divided into districts and allotted among them. . . .".