Trail of Tears
By: Lexia Hogeda
The Cherokee tribe was badly affected by the Trail of Tears because of their peoples death and leaving their homeland behind
The Beginning
In the beginning nearly 125,00 Native Americans lived on millions of acres of land in Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina, and Florida. White settlers wanted to grow cotton on the Indians land. President Andrew Jackson forced the Cherokee to move westward beyond the Mississippi River. Federal Government forced them to leave their homelands and walk for what seemed like thousands of miles to a designated "Indian Territory" across the Mississippi River.
Indian Removal Act
The Indian Removal Act was partially why the Cherokees were forced to move. Andrew Jackson called for an Indian Removal Act in 1829.The act was passed by the congress on May 28, 1830 to remove the Indians. The Indians didn't want to start a war with the white men, but for the Indians to deal with this problem they went to court. After they were turned down to get the act denied the white men held them down at gun point to leave the court and get on the road to Indian Territory.
On the Trail of Tears
The trail of tears was an 800 mile journey. The Indians called it the trail of tears because of its devastating effects. 4,000 out of 15,000 died on the trail of tears, they died from hunger, exposure, and diseases. When they died they were buried on the side of the trail.
Andrew Jackson
Why did Jackson make the Indians move? It was his desire of white settlers in the south to expand into the lands belonging to five Indian tribes. Andrew had complicated history with the Indians when he was just a child. He was once allied with the Indian tribes but had also waged brutal campaigns against them. Jackson's attitude toward Native Americans was not usual for times, but by today's standers he would be considered racist toward the Natives.
How did the Indians deal with the Indian Removal Act?
The Indians didn't want to start a war with the white settlers but they didn't want to be forced to leave their homeland either. Since the Indians didn't want to go to start a war with the white settlers the went to court to deal with the Indian Removal Act. Andrew Jackson didn't want to deny the Act so he had them down on gun point out of the court and went they were on the trail.
In the end
By the end of the 800 mile walk beyond the Mississippi River some of the Indian families lost lives and for those Indians that did never had a proper barrier. They were buried on the side of the trail. Some other Indians starved for food the whole trip. Indians caught diseases and didnt have medications to heal them. After the trail they thought president Andrew Jackson was the worst president they ever met. They were treated badly by him and hated him for it.
Bibliography
PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 05 May 2015.
"Trail of Tears." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 05 May 2015.
"A Brief History of the Trail of Tears." A Brief History of the Trail of Tears. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2015.
"The Museum of the Cherokee Indian (www.cherokeemuseum.org)." The Museum of the Cherokee Indian (www.cherokeemuseum.org). N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2015.