The Trail of Tears
By: Katie Prock
what was the trail of tears
In the early 1800's, Andrew Jackson had Congress pass a law called the Indian Removal Act. This act required Native Americans to relocate west of the Mississippi River under treaties with the U.S. government. When whites started to invade Native American lands, the Indians saw no choice but to sign the treaties. In 1831 the southeast tribes were moved west. The Cherokee, a tribe from Georgia, wasn't ready to leave their land. They went to the Supreme Court and challenged the act. They wanted to protect their land instead of just giving it to Georgia. The Chief Justice ruled that only the federal government could make laws governing the Cherokee, however, President Jackson ignored the Supreme Court. In 1838, 16,000 Cherokee were taken from their homes and forced to make the harsh journey in the dead of winter. A quarter of the Cherokee died on the journey and many others grew weak and ill. This journey became known as the Trail of Tears.
what led up to the trail of tears
In the 1800's President Andrew Jackson asked Congress to pass a law that required Native Americans to either try to blend into American society or relocate west of the Mississippi River. The Native Americans didn't want to change their lifestyle and they were not happy about being forced off of the land where their tribes had lived for decades. Many of them refused to move and this made Andrew Jackson very mad. Although many Americans were against moving the Native Americans, Jackson insisted that Congress pass yet another law, the Indian Removal Act. This act stated that the U.S. government had to negotiate treaties that would require Native Americans to move west of the Mississippi.
effects of the trail of tears
My Reaction
Works Cited
http://www.history.com/topics/native-american-history/trail-of-tears
http://www.ushistory.org/us/24f.asp
http://www.nps.gov/trte/historyculture/stories.htm
https://www.google.com/search?q=pictures+of+the+trail+of+tears
https://www.google.com/search?q=pictures+of+the+trail+of+tears
http://wetrailoftears.weebly.com/negative-costs-and-consequences.html