Trail Of Tears Essay

1611 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Trail of Tears Cherokee Culture

The Trail of Tears was a horrific time in history from the Cherokee Indians. May 18, 1830 was the beginning of a devastating future for the Cherokee Indians. On that day congress officially passed Andrew Jackson’s Indian removal act. This policy granted President Andrew Jackson the right to force the Cherokee tribe consisting of about 13,000 people off of their reservations consisting of about 100 million acres east of the Mississippi River in the Appalachian Mountains and to attend a long and torturous journey consisting of about 1,200 miles within nine months until they reached their new home, a government-mandated area with in present-day Oklahoma. They left their land which was home to the “Five Civilized Tribes” which were assimilated Elders and the sick were forced to move by gunpoint. The Indians had to grab what they needed and left their home within a matter of minutes, leaving behind their valuables and homeland which American thieves stole and took over their property. The journey of three groups of Indians began in the summer on 1838. The Indians traveled by railroad, boat, wagon, and foot through water and land routes. A group traveling over Arkansas suffered around five deaths a day from sickness and dehydration. Around 15,000 captive Indians continued to wait for their removal. Many died from overcrowding, poor sanitation, and drought. The Indians begged the push off the relocation until the fall when they would voluntarily move. This request was granted and they remained in camps until they could continue their journey. As fall approached, 12 groups each including about 1,000 Indians were now apart of the journey to the west. Fall brought heavy storms which made the journey a lot more difficult as the wagons would get stuck along the muddy trail. Food was running scarce and little to no plants or animals inhabited the route they trudged along. A survivor of the Trail of tears stated, " Long time we travel on way to new land. People feel bad when they leave Old Nation. Womens cry and make sad wails. Children cry and many men cry...but they say nothing and just put heads down and keep on go towards West. Many days pass and people die very much.". Fresh water was so scarce that Indians began drinking still water which resulted in a horrible disease. Survivors would live to tell stories of how they watched their father die from sickness, then their mother, then every single sibling in their family one by one each day until none other than they were left. The trip was particularly a rough journey for babies, children, pregnant women, and the elderly. Many of the pregnant women did

Show More
Related

  • Treachery for Cherokees in The Trail of Tears” by author Dee Brown

    625 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the essay, “The Trail of Tears” by author Dee Brown explains that the Cherokees isn’t Native Americans that evaporate effectively from their tribal land, but the enormous measure of sympathy supported on their side that was abnormal. The Cherokees process towards culture also the treachery of both states and incorporated governments of the declaration and promises that contrived to the Cherokee nation. Dee Brown wraps up that the Cherokees had lost Kentucky and Tennessee, but a man who once consider their buddy named Andrew Jackson had begged the Cherokees to move to Mississippi but the bad part is the Indians and white settlers never get along together even if the government wanted to take care of them from harassment it shall be incapable to do that. The Cherokee families moved to the West, but the tribes were together and denied to give up more land but Jackson was running for President if the Georgians elects him as President he agreed that he should give his own support to open up the Cherokee lands for establishment.

    Read More

  • Pros And Cons Of Andrew Jackson

    820 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Indian Removal Act was passed by Congress in order to allow the growth of the United States to continue without the interference of the Native Americans. Jackson believed that the Native Americans were inferior to white settlers and wanted to force them west of the Mississippi. He believed that the United States would not expand past that boundary, so the Native Americans could govern themselves. Jackson evicted thousands of Native Americans from their homes in Georgia and the Carolinas and even disregarded the Supreme Court’s authority and initiated his plan of forcing the Natives’ on the trail of tears. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Indians, however Jackson ignored the ruling and continued with his plan. The result of the Indian Removal Act was that many tribes were tricked or forced off their lands, if they refused to go willingly, resulting in many deaths from skirmishes with soldiers as well as from starvation and disease. The Cherokee in particular were forced to undergo a forced march that became known as the Trail of

    Read More

  • DBQ on Jackson and the Indian Removal

    1646 Words  | 4 Pages

    ... the unwilling tribes west of the Mississippi. In Jackson’s letter to General John Coffee on April 7, 1832, he explained that the Cherokees were still in Georgia, and that they ought to leave for their own benefit because destruction will come upon them if they stay. By 1835, most eastern tribes had unwillingly complied and moved west. The Bureau of Indian Affairs was created in 1836 to help out the resettled tribes. Most Cherokees rejected the settlement of 1835, which provided land in the Indian territory. It was not until 1838, after Jackson had left office, that the U.S. Army forced 15,000 Cherokees to leave Georgia. The hardships on the “trail of tears” were so great that over 4,000 Cherokees died on their heartbreaking westward journey.     In conclusion, the above statement is valid and true. The decision the Jackson administration made to remove the Cherokee Indians to lands west of the Mississippi River was a reformulation of the national policy. Jackson, along with past Presidents George Washington, James Monroe, and Thomas Jefferson, tried to rid the south of Indians This process of removing the native people was continuous as the years went on.

    Read More

  • Andrew Jackson Cruel

    341 Words  | 1 Pages

    Andrew Jackson signed the indian removal act in 1830. This act allowed him to make treaties with the natives and steal their lands. The Trail of Tears was a forced relocation of more than 15,000 cherokee Indians. The white men/people gave the natives 2 options: 1. Leave or 2. Stay and Assimilate (learn our culture). The natives couldn’t have their own government. There were 5 civilized tribes including the cherokees. They learned english and went to american schools and when the cherokees went to court they won.

    Read More

  • Andrew Jackson A Good Or Bad President Essay

    768 Words  | 2 Pages

    One of the groups that were most powerful in this march was the Cherokees; in 1838, they were able to oppose in this policy, however, Andrew Jackson sent in an army to make them march and force to resettle to Arkansas and Oklahoma. During the march, a large numbers of Indians have died due to starvation, brutal weather of the Great Plains, and especially diseases. As a result of this policy, many Native Americans did not support Andrew Jackson in his presidency and caused a trouble with politics for not getting enough supports from the southern and western

    Read More

  • Removal of the Cherokee

    1068 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...(Perdue 20). It gave them two years to prepare for removal. Many of the Cherokees, led by John Ross, protested this treaty. However, in the winter of 1838-1839, all of the Cherokees headed west toward Oklahoma. This removal of the Cherokees is now known, as the Trail of Tears was a very gruesome event. During the trip from the southern United States to current day Oklahoma, many of the Cherokees died. Shortly after their arrival in Oklahoma, they began to rebuild. They began tilling fields, sending their children to school, and attending Council meetings (Perdue 170).

    Read More

  • The Cherokee Victory

    872 Words  | 2 Pages

    The federal government proceeded to find a way around this decision and had three minor Cherokee chief’s sign the “Treaty of New Echota” in 1835 giving the Cherokee lands to the government for 5.6 million dollars and free passage west. Congress got the treaty ratified by only one vote. Members of their tribes murdered all three chiefs who took part in the signing of the treaty. After this event there was not much the Cherokee’s could do and were forcibly moved west on what they called and are known today as the ‘Trail of Tears,’ which became a constitutional crisis in our history. In this instance the lack of cooperation between the branches of the government was the downfall for the Cherokee nation. The way the Cherokee’s were forced west caused losses of up to twenty percent of the nation. This figure is only a guess and scholar’s think it was more a third of the nation was lost. The ‘Trail of Tears’ was also a morale issue in the United States, later having an impact on our history the way other Native American races in general are treated in the future.

    Read More

  • Trail Of Tears Summary

    485 Words  | 1 Pages

    In the early 1830’s, Native Americans lived on millions of acres of land in Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina, and Florida. All of this land was valuable and by the end of this decade, White Americans figured that out. A great portion of the white settlers needed to develop cotton and start their fortunes, and they would do nearly anything to do it on the Natives' property. Eventually, white Americans took the Natives land and sent them on their way to, “Indian territory” across the Mississippi River. This difficult journey was known as the Trail of Tears. Trail of Tears: The Rise and Fall of the Cherokee Nation was written by John Ehle who is an American author born in Asheville, North Carolina. Before becoming an author, Ehle was

    Read More

  • The Southeast Native Americans: Cherokees and Creeks

    900 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...ew western home.” More than 13,000 Cherokees were forcefully moved by the American military. They traveled over 800 miles by steamboat, train cars, and mostly by walking. During this trip known as the Trail of Tears, the Cherokees suffered from starvation, exposure, disease, and hardship. “No report was made of the number of Cherokee who died as the result of the removal. It was as if the Government did not wish to preserve any information.” However, it is estimated that at least 4,000 may have died and some believe that as many as 8,000 died.

    Read More

  • The Tragedy of the Trail of Tears

    1284 Words  | 3 Pages

    To many the trail of tears has no meaning or relevance in their life, but for some the Trail of Tears has great meaning since many of the native ancestors endured the hardships of this time. In the 1830s, Native Americans occupied many acres of land in Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina, and Florida. The main reason for the Trail of Tears was because the Americans wanted the Indians’ land for themselves so they could raise their cattle, and because of the good soil so they could grow and harvest crops. Their ancestors had lived on and cultivated this land for generations, and by the end of that generation very few Native Americans remained anywhere in the Southeastern United States. Many think that The Trail of Tears was just the “Five Civilized Tribes”, but there were many other smaller tribes involved too. Some tribes agreed to sign, and others were forced into it, but either way it went they all had to leave. Many Native Americans suffered from exposure, disease, and starvation on their way to their destinations, making The Trail of Tears one of the greatest hardships in Native American history.

    Read More

  • Native Americans Of North Carolina

    1023 Words  | 3 Pages

    In 1838, the United States government made the Cherokee people leave their homelands. The forced march of the Cherokee to Okalahoma became known as the Trail ...

    Read More

  • What Is The Legacy Of Andrew Jackson's Legacy

    928 Words  | 2 Pages

    Andrew Jackson despised the Indians and he made them walk from the east of the Mississippi River to west of the Mississippi River, Oklahoma, which is known as the Trail of Tears. It was called the Trail of Tears because about 4,000 Native Americans died on the trip due to disease or starvation. The motive for passing the Indian Removal Act is because Americans wanted to colonize on the Native American land. Through the process of removal, Indians had to adapt to both new environments and a new sense of their place in American society. The Trail of Tears has become the symbol in American history that signifies the insensitive and cruel disregard of American policy makers toward American Indians. The Removal Act was the first important legislation that reversed the U.S. policy of respecting the rights of American Indians, established US Policy towards Indian relations for the future, the first major treaty violation of the USA, and showed the Indians that the white man, and his government, could not be

    Read More

  • Trail of Tears

    641 Words  | 2 Pages

    Archeologists say that the Cherokee Indians migrated south from the Great Lakes region around the 15th century. The Cherokee tribe was one of the largest Native American tribes eventually settling and occupying the southeast portion of what was to become the United States. The Cherokee tribe was highly religious and spiritual. They considered warfare to be a polluting act and warriors were required to go thru a purification by a priest before reentering the Cherokee village. Yet in 1830, the Cherokee Indians were forcibly removed from their homeland by the very government the Cherokee Indians had supported during the Revolutionary War. This journey was later called the Trail of Tears.

    Read More

  • The Cherokee Nation And The Trail Of Tears Analysis

    771 Words  | 2 Pages

    Like many Native American Tribes, the Cherokee were systematically suppressed, robbed, dispossessed, and forced out of their ancestral homelands by Americans. This topic has become really difficult and uncomfortable to talk about for no reason other than embarrassment. We, as Americans, are mortified that our own country would partake in the act of forcibly removing a culture from it’s home. We are mortified that we let this become a socially acceptable way to treat Native Americans; but mostly, we are mortified that we conned the Cherokee Natives into signing an unlawful treaty that forced them to leave their Georgia homeland and move west via the Trail of Tears. The novel, The Cherokee Nation and the Trail of Tears, written by Theda Perdue

    Read More

  • Understanding the Origins and Culture of Native Americans

    2107 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Trail of Tears happened between 1831-1939 in the states Virginia, West Virginia, North and South Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida (Vann). A variety of Native Americans were a part of this terrible episode in Native American history and the Cherokees were one of them. In the Trail of Tears event, many Cherokee families that consisted of men, women and children died from being exposed to traumatic events such as starvation and fevers. The federal government had ordered the Native American tribes out of their lands and into other lands (Vann). They were removed from their lands by horrible politicians and military officials. As a result, many Cherokee Indians and their families lost their lives and didn’t make it all the way to their destinations. The reason why the government ordered many of the Native American groups out of the lands they had already owned was because the settlers argued for more land and the Cherokee Indians didn’t want to give up the land they had occupied and made their whole life (Vann). This whole event called the Trail of Tears demonstrated

    Read More

More about Trail Of Tears Essay

Open Document