Many Voices, One Nation
-By Josh Stevens
Settler's Perspective
Settlers moved westward, because there was tons of land there. If a man above the age of 18 that was white could get 160 acres for free from the government, if he was married 300 acres. It was called the Homestead Act. It was also a great scheme for Railroad companies, though many of the first ones over the Rockies were very unsafe. Many people died during the creation of the railroads and when riding them.
Some Settlers left civilization behind, following rivers, crossing great plains, and scaling mountains, in order to find new and better lives for themselves. Often, they faced hardships and dangers as they made their way through unknown territory, suffering from severe weather, Indian attacks, starvation, rugged terrain, and numerous other perils.
Native American's Perspective
President Andrew Jackson offered a law that gave western indians land, Yet, only fourteen months later, Jackson annoyed the Congress to pass the Removal Act, a bill that forced Native Americans to leave the United States and settle in the Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River. in 1838, as the deadline for removal approached, thousands of federal soldiers and Georgia volunteers entered the territory and forcibly relocated the Cherokees. Americans hunted, imprisoned, raped, and murdered Native Americans. Cherokees surviving the onslaught were forced on a 1,000-mile march to the established Indian Territory with few provisions. Approximately 4,000 Cherokees died on this “Trail of Tears".
The Native Americans obviously did not appreciate what the Americans were doing too them, but they had no choice but too go along with it, or they would be considered outlaws/criminals