Indian Removal
TAHPDX: Teaching American History Project
2009
Beth Cookler
Veronica Dolby
Gabor Muskat
Ilana Rembelinsky
Mario Sanchez
http://www.upa.pdx.edu/IMS/currentprojects/TAHv3/Curricula.html
Table of Contents
Introduction to Indian Removal Guide
Essential Question
Guide Rationale
Learning Goals
Page 3
Historical Background Narrative
Sources & Bibliography
Page 4
Indian Removal Map Analysis Activity
Page 9
Document-Based Question Activity
DBQ Middle and Sheltered High School
DBQ High School
DBQ Documents Rationale
Page 12
Page 22
Page 33
Drama: Shall We Leave Our Land?
Page 35
Other Classroom Activities
Page 42
Annotated Bibliography
Page 44
2
Introduction to Indian Removal Guide
Essential Question
How do the Louisiana Purchase and the subsequent Indian Removal Act and displacement of the
Cherokee reflect conflicting opinions and changing federal Indian policy?
Rationale
The purpose of this unit is to illustrate both the Native American perspective and the dominant
culture’s perspective on the Louisiana Purchase and the subsequent displacement of Native
Americans. During this unit students will investigate and evaluate the political, social and
economic impacts of political decisions on Native Americans. Students will gain a deeper
understanding of the various concepts of land ownership.
Learning Goals
Students will be able to:
• Understand the scope and extent of Native American displacement.
• Evaluate the impact of the Louisiana Purchase on the Cherokee.
• Increase their ability to understand various perspectives in looking at history.
• Heighten their awareness about the complicated interactions between Native Americans
and the dominant culture.
• Examine how politicians weigh what is just and ideal vs what is practical or achievable.
3
Indian Removal
Background Narrative
The background narrative is designed to provide the teacher with information that will assist in
presenting this subject matter in the classroom. The annotated bibliography provides further
resources.
4
Historical Background Narrative
The European settlers of North America and, later, the United States Government developed
changing and conflicting opinions and policies towards Native Americans. Similarly, Native
Americans developed diverse reactions to those policies as well. Below is brief summary of how
policy toward the Native Americans changed, beginning with the Northwest Ordinance of 1787
and ending with the Cherokee removal from Georgia and the Trail of Tears.
The Northwest Ordinance of 1787
Native Americans occupied the North American continent long before the arrival of Europeans.
The population of European immigrants in North America grew rapidly and eventually
developed an insatiable desire for land stretching from the Atlantic to Pacific Oceans. From the
very first series of contacts with the Native Americans, the new Euro-Americans believed that
they had discovered the continent and were thus entitled to its land. This belief in the private
ownership of land resulted in a numerous encounters between the Native Americans and the new
Americans, oftentimes adverse to Native Americans. As the young United States continued to
expand its boundaries westward to the Pacific Ocean, the new Americans met with Indian
nations that had historically occupied the land. The newcomers needed land for settlement, and
they aggressively sought it by sale, treaty or by force of arms.
In 1787, in the pursuit of western lands, the
United States Congress under the Articles of
Confederation approved the Northwest
Ordinance. The Ordinance set up a government
for the Northwest Territory (see map) and
provided for the vast region to be divided into
separate territories that could petition to become
states when the territory reached a population of
60,000 [white] settlers. The Northwest Ordinance
accelerated the westward expansion of the United
States into lands occupied by Native Americans.
Because of this, the Ordinance had a specific
clause that addressed the problem. It stated that
“the utmost good faith shall always be observed
towards the Indians; their land and property shall never be taken without their consent; and, in
their property, rights, and liberty, they shall never be invaded or disturbed.” Despite the
intentions of the Northwest Ordinance to respect Native lands, white settlers and land speculators
poured into the Northwest Territory, squatting on Indian lands by the thousands. This resulted in
numerous conflicts between Indians and settlers and wars between Indian nations and the U.S.
government. Despite the explicit language of the Northwest Ordinance to honor and protect the
Native American’s claims to their lands, the United States government most often favored white
settlers and promoted westward expansion.
5
The Louisiana Purchase and Indian Removal
Between 1790 and 1830, tribes east of the Mississippi River, including the Cherokees, signed
many treaties with the United States government. Although the treaties ostensibly were entered
into in good faith, the United States government struggled to find a balance between the
obligation of the new nation to uphold its treaty commitments and the desires of its new citizens
for more and more land. Any good faith of the United States government was quickly abandoned
when faced with the growing pressure to adopt policies favoring westward expansion.
In 1803, President Thomas
Jefferson believed that the
Louisiana Territory purchase would
solve the problem of Indian and
white relations. The Louisiana
Purchase added almost one million
sparsely populated square miles
west of the Mississippi River to the
United States (see map). At the
time of the purchase, Jefferson
believed that the Indians would
willingly sell their lands east of the
Mississippi and agree to relocate to
the vast lands west of the river and
live in peace without interference from the whites. Also, Jefferson believed that white
settlements would not encroach upon the lands west of the Mississippi for at least fifty years. He
was wrong on both counts.
First, the Native Americans were fundamentally tied to their lands. Most of the efforts at
voluntary relocations that involved land swaps were untenable to the Indians, who wanted to
remain on their traditional lands. Second, Jefferson grossly underestimated the rate of western
expansion and the insatiable desire for land by white settlers. Jefferson was correct, however,
that the lands west of the Mississippi would provide necessary land for the relocation of the
Native Americans living east of the Mississippi, but only temporarily. Contrary to Jefferson’s
belief that the Louisiana Purchase would alleviate the “Indian problem,” the purchase instead
accelerated pressure to remove Indians to the newly available lands.
The Cherokee Example
Under Article VI of the Louisiana Purchase treaty, the United States had agreed to honor existing
treaties with Native Americans "until, by mutual consent of the United States and the said tribes
or nations, other suitable articles shall have been agreed upon." Proponents of Indian removal to
west of the Mississippi River seized upon the "other suitable articles" language in the Louisiana
Purchase to make their case for removing Native American tribes from their ancestral
homelands. Specifically, the treatment of the Cherokees living in Georgia exemplifies how the
Louisiana Purchase impacted Indian nations living east of the Mississippi.
6
Beginning in 1791, a series of treaties between the Cherokee nation and the United States federal
government gave recognition to the Cherokee as a nation with its own laws and lands.
Nevertheless, a growing nation, a growing white population and issues of states’ rights
complicated the continuing policy of recognizing Indian nations, and the Cherokees, in
particular. In 1802, Georgia ceded all of its western lands to the federal government with the
expectation that all titles to land in Georgia held by the Cherokee would be extinguished by the
federal government. That did not happen. In 1828, Georgia passed a law pronouncing all laws of
the Cherokee Nation to be null and void. In 1829, gold was discovered in Georgia on Cherokee
land, which intensified Georgia’s efforts to gain ownership of these lands. Finally, in 1830, the
United States Congress passed the Indian Removal Act. After heated debate, the Act passed by
one vote in the U.S. Senate. Passage of the Indian Removal Act eventually led to the forcible
removal of the Cherokee from Georgia to Indian Territory, located in present day Oklahoma.
By 1835, the Cherokee were politically divided and despondent. Most Cherokees supported
Principal Chief John Ross, who fought the encroachment of whites starting with the 1832 land
lottery. However, a minority (fewer than 500 out of 17,000 Cherokee in North Georgia) followed
Major Ridge, his son John, and Elias Boudinot, who advocated removal. The Treaty of New
Echota, signed by Major Ridge and members of the Treaty Party in 1835, gave President Andrew
Jackson the legal document he needed to remove the Cherokees despite protest by Chief Ross.
Ratification of the treaty by the United States Senate sealed the fate of the Cherokee Nation.
Among those who spoke out against the ratification were Daniel Webster and Henry Clay, but it
nonetheless passed by a single vote. In 1838 the United States began the forced removal of
Cherokee, fulfilling a promise the government had made to the State of Georgia in 1802.
Ordered to remove the Cherokee, General John Wool resigned his command in protest, delaying
the action only slightly. His replacement, General Winfield Scott, arrived at New Echota on May
17, 1838 with 7,000 heavily armed forces. The forced migration of the Cherokee to Indian
Territory is known as the Trail of Tears.
Background Narrative Bibliography:
Many of the sources and materials used for this background narrative come from TAHPDX:
Great Decisions in American History, A Teaching American History Project in partnership with
the Institute of Portland Metropolitan Studies at Portland State University and the Portland,
Beaverton, Hillsboro and Forest Grove School Districts, funded by the US Department of
Education. This site provides an excellent overview of the Louisiana Purchase and its impact on
Native Americans living east of the Mississippi River. Available at
http://www.upa.pdx.edu/IMS/currentprojects/TAHv3/Content/Louisiana_Purchase.html.
The following websites were also essential in composing the background narrative:
1. See http://www.pbs.org/ktca/liberty/popup_northwest.html for a brief description of the
Northwest Ordinance.
2. http://www.nps.gov/archive/jeff/LewisClark2/Circa1804/Heritage/LouisianaPurchase/Louisi
anaPurchase.htm This site from the National Park Service provides a brief, but detailed,
history of the Louisiana Purchase.
7
3. See http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2959.html for an article on the history of Indian
removal, generally.
4. http://www.cherokeehistory.com/ This site provides an excellent history of the Cherokee and
served as a principal source for the Historical Background Narrative.
5. http://www.cherokee.org/ This cite provides a concise history of the roundup of the
Cherokee in Georgia from the native perspective.
6. Beyond Worcester: The Alabama Supreme Court and the Sovereignty of the Creek
Nation, Tim Alan Garrison. Journal of the Early Republic, Vol. 19, No. 3 (Autumn, 1999),
pp. 423-450; Published by: University of Pennsylvania Press on behalf of the Society for
Historians of the Early American Republic. This article gives a detailed account of the
Supreme Court cases authored by Justice Marshall granting the Cherokee independent
sovereign nation status. The article details the pressure on Georgia politicians and courts to
remove the Cherokee from Georgia as the white population of Georgia grew and after gold
was discovered.
7. The following site gives a concise account of the internal conflict within the Cherokee on the
issue of removal which was whether to go peacefully or whether to resist relocation
forcefully (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2959.html). From the site: The Cherokee,
on the other hand, were tricked with an illegitimate treaty. In 1833, a small faction agreed to
sign a removal agreement: the Treaty of New Echota. The leaders of this group were not the
recognized leaders of the Cherokee nation, and over 15,000 Cherokees -- led by Chief John
Ross -- signed a petition in protest. The Supreme Court ignored their demands and ratified
the treaty in 1836. The Cherokee were given two years to migrate voluntarily, at the end of
which time they would be forcibly removed. By 1838 only 2,000 had migrated; 16,000
remained on their land. The U.S. government sent in 7,000 troops, who forced the Cherokees
into stockades at bayonet point. They were not allowed time to gather their belongings, and
as they left, whites looted their homes. Then began the march known as the Trail of Tears, in
which 4,000 Cherokee people died of cold, hunger, and disease on their way to the western
lands.
8. How the Indians Lost their Land: Law and Power on the Frontier. Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press, 2005. The United States government shaped the legal framework under
which the European settlers could dispossess the Native Americans of land making it easy to
acquire land claimed by Native Americans.
9. The Louisiana Purchase: Jefferson's Noble Bargain? (Monticello Monograph Series,
distributed for the Thomas Jefferson Foundation) and Levinson, Sanford and Bartholomew
Sparrow, ed., The Louisiana Purchase and American Expansion, 1803-1898. Lanham, MD:
Rowman and Littlefield, 2005.
10. For a discussion of the Cherokee Indian cases before the United States Supreme Court in the
1830s on the issue of Indian sovereign nation status see
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/supremecourt/antebellum/landmark_cherokee.html.
8
Indian Removal
Map Analysis Activity
9
Indian Removal Mapping Activity
The Indian Removal Google Earth project organizes data folders and layers that show Native
American cultural groups, the various Trails of Tears and population expansion westward.
Review basic geographic concepts:
• Absolute and Relative Location
• Latitude/Longitude
• Direction & Distance
• Cardinal Directions (North, South, East, West)
• Push/Pull Factors
To complete this activity, secure a computer lab and confirm that it has Google Earth loaded.
Have students run through a quick Google Earth tutorial to get familiar with the program and
how to navigate the map layers. A short tutorial can be found on the TAHPDX <Curricula>
webpage at http://www.upa.pdx.edu/IMS/currentprojects/TAHv3/Curricula.html (linked at the
top of the page.
The Indian Removal Google Earth project can be opened (double-click) directly from the
TAHPDX <Curricula> webpage. It will be included with the Indian Removal Guide (listed
alphabetically on this page).
-------------------------------------------------Mapping Activity Focus Question: Predict the factors contributing to the decision to remove
American Indian tribes from their native lands.
Instructions: Your group has been assigned an American Indian tribe to learn about. For your
tribe, you are going to follow the journey through early United States history, examining the
interaction between your tribe and the American government.
Tribes: Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw
Launch the Indian Removal Google Earth Project; use the following layers to answer the
questions below in a notebook:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Pre-Settlement Indian Languages Map
Trail of Tears Map 1830-1835
Current Geography: Rivers
Land assigned to Emigrant Indians 1836
“In Time and Place” web link from the Cherokee Census data
1800 Population per county
1830 Population per county
Ruler tool and thumbtack to measure distance
10
1. Find your tribe’s location on the Pre-Settlement Indian Languages map. From the center
point of that location, what is the latitude and longitude of your tribe’s piece of land?
2. Evaluate the geographical features of that location. What natural resources might your tribe
have benefited from?
3. Now look at the Trail of Tears map and the Land Assigned to Emigrant Indians map. Where
did your tribe move to? What is the latitude and longitude of the new location?
4. Using the ruler tool, measure the distance of your tribe’s journey. How far did they have to
travel to their new location? (If there is more than one route, choose one.)
5. Evaluate the geographical features of the route. What obstacles may your tribe have
encountered on their journey? Be specific.
6. Which tribe(s) already lived in that location? Predict whether your tribe may have lived in
peace with other tribes or whether conflict may have arisen.
7. Evaluate the geographical features of the new location. What natural resources might your
tribe have benefited from in the new place?
8. Examine the census data from the Population per County maps from 1800 and 1830.
a. What changes do you notice?
b. How might changes in population affect the decision of the United States government
to remove your tribe from its native land?
9. What other factors may have motivated the United States government to decide that the
removal of your tribe was necessary and important for the United States?
10. From the perspective of your tribe, how might you have felt if the US government forced you
to leave your native land and travel to a new location?
11
Indian Removal
Document-Based Question Activity
Middle and Sheltered High School
12
DBQ Hook Activity
Question: What is the relationship between the arrival of the European settlers and the
territorial claims of indigenous populations over time?
This activity is a simulation of how territory changed ownership over time between the European
settlers and the Native Americans. Start with the whole class sitting comfortably at their seats.
Announce that all students are members of a Native American tribe and this is their ancestral
homeland. For each round, use a random method of selecting 2-3 students (depending on size of
class) who will switch roles. Suggested methods of selection: birthday closest to date, first letter
of first name closest to the beginning of the alphabet, clothing specification, etc.
Round 1
Announce that the two students selected randomly (see above) encountered settlers on their land
and they were shot. They die and their new role is to be European Settlers. Give settlers one
quarter of the room to occupy and then have the remaining students (Native Americans) move to
the remaining part of the room.
Round 2
Announce that the two students selected randomly (see above) got the measles from contact with
European settlers and died. Their new role is to be European Settlers. Give settlers one half of
the room to occupy and then have the remaining students (Native Americans) move to the
remaining part of the room.
Round 3
Announce that the two students selected randomly (see above) died of starvation due to loss of
hunting and agricultural lands. Their new role is to be European Settlers. Give settlers three
quarters of the room to occupy and then have the remaining students (Native Americans) move
to the remaining part of the room.
Round 4
Announce that for their own protection from the settlers the Native Americans have been given
new territory that they need to move to immediately. The settlers must escort them to their new
territory. (Teacher brings students to a previously arranged location on the school grounds. If
possible arrange to move students to an occupied classroom, foreign language class would be
best if possible where students don’t understand the language being spoken.)
Debrief
Return to class when ready. Start with a 5 minute quick write about the experience and have
students write down 1 question. Discuss main lesson question and student questions as a class.
13
DBQ Question: Did the Trail of Tears represent change in federal policy towards
Native Americans, as demonstrated through its dealings with the Cherokee people?
Background Information (for student)
In 1787, the United States Congress approved the Northwest Ordinance. This Ordinance
accelerated the westward expansion of the United States into lands already occupied by Native
Americans. Because of this, the Ordinance had a specific clause that addressed the problem. It
stated that “the utmost good faith shall always be observed towards the Indians; their land and
property shall never be taken without their consent; and, in their property, rights, and liberty,
they shall never be invaded or disturbed.” Despite the intentions of the Northwest Ordinance to
respect native lands, white settlers and land speculators poured westward, squatting on Indian
lands by the thousands. This resulted in numerous conflicts between Indians and settlers and
wars between Indian nations and the U.S. government. Despite the explicit language of the
Northwest Ordinance to honor and protect the Native American’s claims to their lands, the
United States government most often favored white settlers and promoted westward expansion.
The United States Constitution also has a clause that addresses how the government should deal
with Indian nations. Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 states “The Congress shall have power…to
regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian
tribes…” The Commerce Clause represents one of the most fundamental powers delegated to
the Congress by the founders, a definition of the balance of power between the federal
government, the states, and the Indian nations.
In 1828, Georgia claimed the right to make laws for the Cherokee Nation. The Cherokee went to
the Federal Courts to defend their right to make their own laws and maintain their property rights
as an independent nation within the United States. Their case reached the United States Supreme
Court. In Worcester v. Georgia (1832), Chief Justice John Marshall, writing the majority opinion
for the Court, declared Georgia’s action unconstitutional. The opinion recognized the
Cherokee’s status as a sovereign nation, meaning that the Cherokee had absolute authority over
its territory.
However, President Andrew Jackson refused to recognize the Court’s authority and failed to
enforce the Court’s decision. Instead, Jackson sided with Georgia and said that the federal
government would not interfere with a state’s right to pass laws relating to issues within its
borders. As a result, the Federal Government would not intervene and stop Georgia from
extending its authority over Cherokee lands, thus opening up the Cherokee lands to white
settlers.
As the population of whites grew in Georgia, more and more began to settle in western Georgia,
the area of Georgia where the Cherokee lived. Though treaties between the Cherokee and the
Federal Government guaranteed these lands to the Cherokee, the encroachment of white settlers
sparked conflicts with the Cherokee, who were aggressively defending their territory. The
growing conflict was exacerbated by the discovery of gold on Cherokee lands.
14
In 1830, at the urging of President Jackson, Congress passed the Indian Removal Act. The Act
authorized the Federal government to pay Native Americans to move west of the Mississippi
River. The exercise of this federal power had more far reaching consequences however. In 1835,
the Federal Government forced the Cherokee to agree to a disputed Treaty of New Echota, in
which the Cherokee agreed to give up all of their ancestral lands in Georgia.
In 1838, an army of 7,000 federal troops came to remove the Cherokee from their lands and lead
them west. Under threat of force, the Cherokee agreed to leave, knowing that resistance would
ultimately lead to their destruction. More than 15,000 Cherokee began their long and sorrowful
march to the west, traveling hundreds of miles over a period of several months. They had little
food or shelter. The Cherokee people call this journey the "Trail Where We Cried” (also known
as the “Trail of Tears”) because of its devastating effects. The Cherokee faced hunger, disease,
and exhaustion on the forced march. Over 4,000 Cherokees died on the journey, mostly children
and the elderly.
National Park Service, Trail of Tears.
15
DBQ Question: Did the Trail of Tears represent change in federal policy towards
Native Americans, as demonstrated through its dealings with the Cherokee people?
DBQ Documents
Note: A rationale for inclusion of the documents is included at the end of the DBQ activity. The
sources of the documents can be found in the Annotated Bibliography. Teachers can use their
discretion as to which documents they feel would be most appropriate for the students they will
be teaching.
--------------------------------------------------
Document 1: Treaty at Hopewell, 1785
Excerpts from Treaty at Hopewell with the Cherokee Nation,
November 28, 1785
Background: On November 28, 1785, the Treaty of Hopewell was signed between the U.S.
representative Benjamin Hawkins and the Cherokee Indians at the plantation of Andrew Pickens
on the Seneca River in northwestern South Carolina. The treaty laid out a western boundary
where white settlement would not be allowed to expand.
ARTICLE V.
If any citizen of the United States, or other person not being an Indian, shall attempt to settle on
any of the lands westward or southward of the said boundary which are hereby allotted to the
Indians for their hunting grounds, or having already settled and will not remove from the same
with six months after the ratification of this treaty, such person shall forfeit the protection of the
United States, and the Indians may punish him or not as they please…
ARTICLE XII.
That the Indians may have full confidence in the justice of the United States, respecting their
interests, they shall have the right to send a deputy of their choice, whenever they think fit, to
Congress.
Questions:
1. Who are the parties to the Treaty and when was it passed?
2. How does this Treaty protect Indian Lands?
3. What rights do the Cherokee have if the terms of the Treaty are violated?
16
Document 2: Cherokee Land Maps (1791-1838)
Teacher Note: Print this in color so the boundary lines are clear. Red boundary line indicates
Cherokee land.
Cherokee Land Maps-Original Claims, 1791, and Before Indian
Removal 1838
Guiding Questions:
1. Use an atlas and identify which present day states the Cherokee lands were located in for
the various time periods.
2. What is happening to the Cherokee land over time?
3. Based on the boundaries of the Cherokee lands in 1838, why might Georgia be the state
most active in pursuing Indian removal?
17
Document 3: Indian Removal Act of 1830
Indian Removal Act of 1830 (excerpts)
An Act to provide for an exchange of lands with the Indians residing in any of the states of
territories, and for their removal west of the river Mississippi.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in
Congress assembled, That it shall and may be lawful for the President of the United States to
cause so much of any territory belonging to the United States, west of the river Mississippi, not
included in any state of organized territory, and to which the Indian title has been extinguished,
as he may judge necessary, to be divided into a suitable number of districts, for the reception of
such tribes of nations of Indians as may choose to exchange the lands where they now reside,
and remove there; and to cause each of said districts to be so described by natural or artificial
marks, as to be easily distinguished from every other.
Guiding Questions:
1. What kind of connections can you make between the Louisiana Purchase and Indian
Removal to lands west of the Mississippi River?
2. What is the Act’s expectation of Native American tribes living east of the Mississippi
River?
3. Hypothesize what the impact of Indian Removal would be on tribes west of the
Mississippi River.
18
Document 4: Great Heroes of Real Estate
Guiding Questions:
1. Whose picture is on this Twenty Dollar Bill?
2. How does this image connect the person with the Indian Removal Act?
3. What do you think is the significance of the stamp: "Great Heroes of Real Estate"? Who
do you think it refers to?
4. Do you think this artist would have supported the Cherokee’s rights to keep their land, or
Jackson’s Indian Removal Policy? Explain why.
19
Document 5: Cherokee Trail of Tears Timeline
The Cherokee Trail of Tears
Timeline
1838
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
15,665 people of the Cherokee Nation approach Congress protesting the Treaty
of New Echola.
Outraged American citizens throughout the country approach Congress on behalf
of the Cherokee.
Congress tables statements protesting Cherokee removal. Federal troops ordered
to prepare for roundup.
Cherokee roundup begins May 23, 1838. Southeast suffers worst drought in
recorded history. Tsali (a Cherokee) escapes roundup and returns to North
Carolina.
First group of Cherokees driven west under Federal guard. Further removal
aborted because of drought and "sickly season."
Over 13,000 Cherokees imprisoned in military stockades await break in drought.
Approximately 1500 die in confinement.
In Aquohee stockade, Cherokee chiefs meet in council, reaffirming the
sovereignty of the Cherokee Nation. John Ross becomes superintendent of the
removal.
Drought breaks. Cherokee prepare to embark on forced march to Indian Territory
in present-day Oklahoma. Ross wins additional funds for food and clothing.
For most Cherokee, the "Trail of Tears" begins.
Thirteen contingents of Cherokees cross Tennessee, Kentucky and Illinois. First
groups reach the Mississippi River, where their crossing is held up by river ice
flows.
Contingent led by Chief Jesse Bushyhead camps near present day Trail of Tears
Park. John Ross leaves Cherokee homeland with last group, carrying the records
and laws of the Cherokee Nation. 5000 Cherokees trapped east of the Mississippi
by harsh winter, many die.
Guiding Questions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
What evidence is there about the Cherokee response to the removal?
What evidence is there about the response of the American public to the removal?
How did the weather impact the move west?
What does the timeline tell you about the conditions faced by the Cherokee along the
Trail of Tears?
20
Document 6: The Trail of Tears
The Trail of Tears (author unknown)
We walked that trail,
tears in our eyes,
dragging our feet in weariness.
How could we have believed all their lies?
Leaving nothing but blood,
they slaughtered our mothers and daughters,
and after all was gone,
they claimed this land was their “Father’s.”
The Trail of Tears.
We believed their evil smiles,
and believed that they would save us,
and now we know the truth,
nothing can save the lost.
They took our spirit,
and fulfilled our every fear,
killed our hope,
and now we walk.
Guiding Questions:
1. What does the author think about the promises of the U.S. government?
2. How does this poem contradict the speech by Jackson about the benefits of relocation for
Indians?
21
Indian Removal
Document-Based Question Activity
High School
22
DBQ Hook Activity
Question: What is the relationship between the arrival of the European settlers and the
territorial claims of indigenous populations over time?
This activity is a simulation of how territory changed ownership over time between the European
settlers and the Native Americans. Start with the whole class sitting comfortably at their seats.
Announce that all students are members of a Native American tribe and this is their ancestral
homeland. For each round, use a random method of selecting 2-3 students (depending on size of
class) who will switch roles. Suggested methods of selection: birthday closest to date, first letter
of first name closest to the beginning of the alphabet, clothing specification, etc.
Round 1
Announce that the two students selected randomly (see above) encountered settlers on their land
and they were shot. They die and their new role is to be European Settlers. Give settlers one
quarter of the room to occupy and then have the remaining students (Native Americans) move to
the remaining part of the room.
Round 2
Announce that the two students selected randomly (see above) got the measles from contact with
European settlers and died. Their new role is to be European Settlers. Give settlers one half of
the room to occupy and then have the remaining students (Native Americans) move to the
remaining part of the room.
Round 3
Announce that the two students selected randomly (see above) died of starvation due to loss of
hunting and agricultural lands. Their new role is to be European Settlers. Give settlers three
quarters of the room to occupy and then have the remaining students (Native Americans) move
to the remaining part of the room.
Round 4
Announce that for their own protection from the settlers the Native Americans have been given
new territory that they need to move to immediately. The settlers must escort them to their new
territory. (Teacher brings students to a previously arranged location on the school grounds. If
possible arrange to move students to an occupied classroom, foreign language class would be
best if possible where students don’t understand the language being spoken.)
Debrief
Return to class when ready. Start with a 5 minute quick write about the experience and have
students write down 1 question. Discuss main lesson question and student questions as a class.
23
DBQ Question: Did the Trail of Tears represent change in federal policy towards
Native Americans, as demonstrated through its dealings with the Cherokee people?
Background Information (for student)
In 1787, the United States Congress approved the Northwest Ordinance. This Ordinance
accelerated the westward expansion of the United States into lands already occupied by Native
Americans. Because of this, the Ordinance had a specific clause that addressed the problem. It
stated that “the utmost good faith shall always be observed towards the Indians; their land and
property shall never be taken without their consent; and, in their property, rights, and liberty,
they shall never be invaded or disturbed.” Despite the intentions of the Northwest Ordinance to
respect native lands, white settlers and land speculators poured westward, squatting on Indian
lands by the thousands. This resulted in numerous conflicts between Indians and settlers and
wars between Indian nations and the U.S. government. Despite the explicit language of the
Northwest Ordinance to honor and protect the Native American’s claims to their lands, the
United States government most often favored white settlers and promoted westward expansion.
The United States Constitution also has a clause that addresses how the government should deal
with Indian nations. Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 states “The Congress shall have power…to
regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian
tribes…” The Commerce Clause represents one of the most fundamental powers delegated to
the Congress by the founders, a definition of the balance of power between the federal
government, the states, and the Indian nations.
In 1828, Georgia claimed the right to make laws for the Cherokee Nation. The Cherokee went to
the Federal Courts to defend their right to make their own laws and maintain their property rights
as an independent nation within the United States. Their case reached the United States Supreme
Court. In Worcester v. Georgia (1832), Chief Justice John Marshall, writing the majority opinion
for the Court, declared Georgia’s action unconstitutional. The opinion recognized the
Cherokee’s status as a sovereign nation, meaning that the Cherokee had absolute authority over
its territory.
However, President Andrew Jackson refused to recognize the Court’s authority and failed to
enforce the Court’s decision. Instead, Jackson sided with Georgia and said that the federal
government would not interfere with a state’s right to pass laws relating to issues within its
borders. As a result, the Federal Government would not intervene and stop Georgia from
extending its authority over Cherokee lands, thus opening up the Cherokee lands to white
settlers.
As the population of whites grew in Georgia, more and more began to settle in western Georgia,
the area of Georgia where the Cherokee lived. Though treaties between the Cherokee and the
Federal Government guaranteed these lands to the Cherokee, the encroachment of white settlers
sparked conflicts with the Cherokee, who were aggressively defending their territory. The
growing conflict was exacerbated by the discovery of gold on Cherokee lands.
24
In 1830, at the urging of President Jackson, Congress passed the Indian Removal Act. The Act
authorized the Federal government to pay Native Americans to move west of the Mississippi
River. The exercise of this federal power had more far reaching consequences however. In 1835,
the Federal Government forced the Cherokee to agree to a disputed Treaty of New Echota, in
which the Cherokee agreed to give up all of their ancestral lands in Georgia.
In 1838, an army of 7,000 federal troops came to remove the Cherokee from their lands and lead
them west. Under threat of force, the Cherokee agreed to leave, knowing that resistance would
ultimately lead to their destruction. More than 15,000 Cherokee began their long and sorrowful
march to the west, traveling hundreds of miles over a period of several months. They had little
food or shelter. The Cherokee people call this journey the "Trail Where We Cried” (also known
as the “Trail of Tears”) because of its devastating effects. The Cherokee faced hunger, disease,
and exhaustion on the forced march. Over 4,000 Cherokees died on the journey, mostly children
and the elderly.
National Park Service, Trail of Tears.
25
DBQ Question: Did the Trail of Tears represent change in federal policy towards
Native Americans, as demonstrated through its dealings with the Cherokee people?
DBQ Documents
Note: For each of the documents there is a rationale for their inclusion located at the end of the
DBQ activity. The sources of the documents can be found in the Annotated Bibliography.
Teachers can use their discretion as to which documents they feel would be most appropriate for
the students they will be teaching.
--------------------------------------------------
Document 1: Treaty at Hopewell, 1785
Excerpts from Treaty at Hopewell with the Cherokee Nation,
November 28, 1785
Background: On November 28, 1785, the Treaty of Hopewell was signed between the U.S.
representative Benjamin Hawkins and the Cherokee Indians at the plantation of Andrew Pickens
on the Seneca River in northwestern South Carolina. The treaty laid out a western boundary
where white settlement would not be allowed to expand.
ARTICLE V.
If any citizen of the United States, or other person not being an Indian, shall attempt to settle on
any of the lands westward or southward of the said boundary which are hereby allotted to the
Indians for their hunting grounds, or having already settled and will not remove from the same
with six months after the ratification of this treaty, such person shall forfeit the protection of the
United States, and the Indians may punish him or not as they please…
ARTICLE XII.
That the Indians may have full confidence in the justice of the United States, respecting their
interests, they shall have the right to send a deputy of their choice, whenever they think fit, to
Congress.
Questions:
1. Who are the parties to the Treaty and when was it passed?
2. How does this Treaty protect Indian Lands?
3. What rights do the Cherokee have if the terms of the Treaty are violated?
26
Document 2: Fifth Amendment to the US Constitution, 1791
Fifth Amendment - Rights of Persons & Property
No person shall be…deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall
private property be taken for public use, without just [fair] compensation.
Guiding Questions:
1. What does the Fifth Amendment say about private property? About property rights?
2. How might the Fifth Amendment connect to the Indian Removal Act? Does it support it
or not?
Document 3: Jackson’s Message to Congress, 1830
President Jackson’s Message to Congress “On Indian Removal”
December 6, 1830
It gives me pleasure to announce to Congress that the benevolent policy of the Government,
steadily pursued for nearly thirty years, in relation to the removal of the Indians beyond the white
settlements, is approaching to a happy consummation [conclusion].
The consequences of a speedy removal will be important to the United Sates, to individual States
and to the Indians themselves…It puts an end to all possible danger of collision between the
authorities of the General and State Governments, on account of the Indians. It will place a
dense and civilized population in large tracts of country now occupied by a few savage hunters.
By opening the whole territory between Tennessee on the north, and Louisiana on the south, to
the settlement of the whites, it will incalculably strengthen the southwestern frontier, and render
the adjacent States strong enough to repel future invasion without remote aid. It will relieve the
whole state of Mississippi, and the western part of Alabama, of Indian occupancy, and enable
those States to advance rapidly in population, wealth, and power. It will separate the Indians
from immediate contact with settlements of whites; free them from the power of the State; enable
them to pursue happiness in their own way, and under their own rude institutions; will retard the
progress of decay…and through the influence of good, counsels…To cast off their savage habits,
and become an interesting, civilized and Christian community.
Guiding Questions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
According to Jackson, what are the benefits of removal for the Cherokee?
According to Jackson, what are the benefits of removal for the United States?
How does Jackson reconcile benefits to all the parties? What are the “common” benefits?
Find examples of “loaded terms” Jackson uses to persuade Congress to his point of view?
27
Document 4: Senate Debate on Indian Removal Act, 1830
Excerpts from Senate Debate on Indian Removal Bill, April 16,
1830, Senator Peleg Sprague (Maine), 1830
By several of these treaties, we hare unequivocally guaranteed to them that they shall forever
enjoy:
1st. Their separate existence, as a poetical community:
2nd. Undisturbed possession and full enjoyment of their lands, within certain boundaries, which
are duly defined and fully described;
3rd. The protection of the United States, against all interference with, or encroachments upon
their rights by any people, state, or nation.
For these promises, on our part, we received ample consideration--By the restoration and establishing of peace;
By large cessions of territory;
By the promise on their part to treaty with no other state or nation; and other important
stipulations.
Whither are the Cherokees to go? What are the benefits of the change? What system has been
matured for their security? What laws for their government? These questions are answered only
by gilded [showy/glib] promises in general terms; they are to become enlightened and civilized
husbandmen.
…It is proposed to send them from their cotton fields, their farms and their gardens; to a distant
and an unsubdued wilderness. To make them tillers of the earth! To remove them from their
looms, their work-shops, their printing press, their schools, and churches, near the white
settlements; to frowning forests, surrounded with naked savages. That they may become
enlightened and civilized! We have pledged to them our protection and, instead of shielding
them where they now are, within our reach, under our own arm, we send these natives of a
southern clime to northern regions, amongst fierce and warlike barbarians. And what security do
we propose to them? A new guarantee!! Who can look an Indian in the face; and say to him; we,
and our fathers, for more than forty years, have made to you the most solemn promises; we now
violate and trample upon them all; but offer you in their stead another guarantee!!
Guiding Questions:
1. Is Sprague in favor of or against Indian Removal? How do you know?
2. What benefits did Sprague list about previous treaties to all the parties?
3. According to Sprague, how will the lives of the Cherokees change if they move west of
the Mississippi River?
4. How does Sprague describe the change in communities or in Federal Indian Policy that
will result from passage of this bill?
28
Document 5: Indian Removal Act of 1830
Indian Removal Act of 1830 (excerpts)
An Act to provide for an exchange of lands with the Indians residing in any of the states of
territories, and for their removal west of the river Mississippi.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in
Congress assembled, That it shall and may be lawful for the President of the United States to
cause so much of any territory belonging to the United States, west of the river Mississippi, not
included in any state of organized territory, and to which the Indian title has been extinguished,
as he may judge necessary, to be divided into a suitable number of districts, for the reception of
such tribes of nations of Indians as may choose to exchange the lands where they now reside,
and remove there; and to cause each of said districts to be so described by natural or artificial
marks, as to be easily distinguished from every other.
Guiding Questions:
1. What kind of connections can you make between the Louisiana Purchase and Indian
Removal to lands west of the Mississippi River?
2. What is the Act’s expectation of Native American tribes living east of the Mississippi
River?
3. Hypothesize what the impact of Indian Removal would be on tribes west of the
Mississippi River.
29
Document 6: Great Heroes of Real Estate
Great Heroes of Real Estate
Guiding Questions:
1. Whose picture is on this Twenty Dollar Bill?
2. How does this image connect the person with the Indian Removal Act?
3. What do you think is the significance of the stamp: "Great Heroes of Real Estate"? Who
do you think it refers to?
4. Do you think this artist would have supported the Cherokee’s rights to keep their land, or
Jackson’s Indian Removal Policy? Explain why.
30
Document 7: Worcester v. Georgia (1832)
Worcester v. Georgia 1832
Background: In this case, the plaintiff, Samuel Austin Worcester, Postmaster of New Echota (the
Cherokee capital), appealed his conviction under a Georgia law that required all whites living in Cherokee
Territory to obtain permission from the State. Worcester and seven fellow missionaries refused to obey
the law. They believed that, because of their support for Cherokees who were organizing to resist
removal, they would never be granted permission by the State of Georgia, the defendant in this Supreme
Court case.
Excerpts from Court ruling:
From the commencement of our government Congress has passed acts to regulate trade and
intercourse with the Indians; which treat them as nations, respect their rights, and manifest a firm
purpose to afford that protection which treaties stipulate. All these acts, and especially that of
1802, which is still in force, manifestly consider the several Indian nations as distinct political
communities, having territorial boundaries, within which their authority is exclusive, and having
a right to all the lands within those boundaries, which is not only acknowledged, but guaranteed
by the United States. . .
The Cherokee Nation, then, is a distinct community, occupying its own territory, with boundaries
accurately described, in which the laws of Georgia can have no force, and which the citizens of
Georgia have no right to enter but with the assent of the Cherokees themselves or in conformity
with treaties and with the acts of Congress.
The act of the State of Georgia [defendant] under which the plaintiff in error was prosecuted is
consequently void, and the judgement a nullity. . . .
The Acts of Georgia … are in direct hostility with treaties, repeated in a succession of years,
which mark out the boundary that separates the Cherokee country from Georgia; guarantee to
them all the land within their boundary; solemnly pledge the faith of the United States to restrain
their citizens from trespassing on it; and recognize the pre-existing power of the nation to govern
itself.
They are in equal hostility with the acts of Congress for regulating this intercourse, and giving
effect to the treaties. Judgement reversed.
Guiding Questions:
1. Did the Court rule in favor of the plaintiff or the defendant? What reasons are cited for
the ruling?
2. How does this ruling define the Cherokee and what reasoning does it use to do so?
3. What previous laws are referenced about the rights of the Cherokee as a sovereign
nation?
4. What did the ruling say about the rights of the State of Georgia regarding the Cherokee?
31
Document 8: Cherokee Land Maps (1791-1838)
Teacher Note: Print this in color so the boundary lines are clear. Red boundary line indicates
Cherokee land.
Cherokee Land Maps-Original Claims, 1791, and Before Indian
Removal 1838
Guiding Questions:
4. Use an atlas and identify which present day states the Cherokee lands were located in for
the various time periods.
5. What is happening to the Cherokee land over time?
6. Based on the boundaries of the Cherokee lands in 1838, why might Georgia be the state
most active in pursuing Indian removal?
32
DBQ Rationales for Documents
Document: The Removal Act of 1830 (M/H)
This document provides students with an opportunity to read the actual Removal Act document
and what it says about Native Americans. It reflects the position of the United States
government and the power it executed on the people and the land.
Document: Worcester v. Georgia 1832
This is a court case between the state of Georgia and a citizen of Vermont that was punished by
law for interactions he had with the Cherokee. It provides juxtaposition about how different
types of interactions between the Cherokee people and citizens of the US were interpreted by
various branches of the US government (the Supreme Court in this case).
Document: Timeline of Cherokee Removal 1838
This timeline is a very helpful document for students to see the series of events that took place
leading up to and including the forced march to Oklahoma. It presents different emotions for the
Cherokee and the American Citizens. It also presents information about the actual conditions the
Cherokee faced during that period.
Document: Twenty Dollar Bill/Indian Removal Act of 1830
This document provides the students with an opportunity to look at a form of political
commentary. There are words and images that will require the students to try and see the bigger
picture.
Document: Fifth Amendment Text 1789
This document will provide the students with the opportunity to evaluate how the Fifth
Amendment was or was not applied to the Indian Removal Act.
Document: Jackson’s Message to Congress 1830
This document will allow students to actually read the words Jackson spoke to Congress in
regard to Indian removal. The students will be able to analyze and evaluate the language that
Jackson used to present the Indian Removal Act.
Document: Senate Debate on Indian Removal Bill, April 16, 1830, Senator Peleg Sprague
(Maine)
This document will allow students to explore the earlier treaties that were made with the
Cherokee and dissent from Congress in how the treaties were not being followed by the US
government. The senator that is speaking in this document is defending the rights of the
Cherokee.
Document: Cherokee Land Maps – Original Claims, 1791, and Before Removal 1838
These maps are a very clear way for students to see how the lands of the Cherokee really
diminished over time. Students will be able to compare these lands with the present day states
that occupy the lands. They will hopefully be able to connect the tension between the Cherokee
and the State of Georgia in particular.
33
Document: Trail of Tears, The Legend of the Cherokee Rose
This is a poem written from the point of view of a Cherokee about their experiences on the Trail
of Tears. This document will evoke emotion and provide the students with a deeper insight into
the personal experience of the Cherokee.
Document: Treaty of Hopewell with the Cherokee November 28, 1785
This document will show the students that there were previous treaties between the Cherokee and
the United States. The treaties explained how the land was to be used and repercussions for
improper use.
34
Indian Removal
Drama Script
Shall We Leave Our Land?
35
Shall We Leave Our Land?
CHARACTERS
NARRATOR: Provides context for the characters and some background information.
MAJOR RIDGE: Influential and wealthy Cherokee that supports removal.
JOHN RIDGE: Son of Major Ridge.
JOHN ROSS: Principal Chief of the Cherokee, wants to fight removal.
LEWIS CASS (Secretary of War)
SETTING
Late January, 1835. Washington DC. Late evening. Play takes place in the Major Ridge’s
sitting room. Candles are lit around a large wooden table in the middle of the room. The room is
otherwise dark.
SCENE ONE
(Slide in backdrop shows a historic map of designated Indian
Territory.)
NARRATOR
In January 1835, several meetings took place in Washington D.C. between the leadership of the
Cherokee Nation and representatives of the U.S. Government. The purpose of these meetings
was to decide how to proceed with Cherokee removal. Some factions within the Cherokee
leadership advocated complete acceptance of the relocation plans seeing no other alternatives.
Others factions wanted to delay removal until perhaps more advantageous terms may be
negotiated.
John Ross. 45 years old. 7/8th Scottish, 1/8th Cherokee, Principal Chief of the Cherokee nation
for 7 years. A member of the Cherokee elite.
(ROSS steps forward, turns and sits at the head of the large table, raises arm in a gesture,
but appears frozen in space.)
Pathkiller the 2nd. Also known as Major Ridge. 64 years old. 3/4 Cherokee, 1/4 Scottish, a
plantation owner. One of the wealthiest men in the Cherokee Nation.
(M.RIDGE steps forward sits down next to ROSS, looks at him intently, appears to be
frozen in space.)
John Ridge. 42 years old. Son of Major Ridge. Educated in a mission school in Georgia and later
in Connecticut.
(J.RIDGE steps forward and walks behind a chair around the table. He rests his hands on
the back of the chair and turns toward the two other men, he also appears frozen.)
(After J.RIDGE assumes his stage position, the NARRATOR steps off stage, the
backdrop slide fades out and actors unfreeze. A serious discussion ensues.)
36
M. RIDGE
I thought the same way as you for many years. I hoped that our great nation may remain on our
ancestral homeland, side by side with whites. We became civilized. Our children went to
mission schools. We settled down, became farmers. We did everything the Americans told us
we had to do, but now I see no other way for our survival than to move to Oklahoma Territory.
We sign the treaty. With our compliance, our people will survive.
ROSS
Major, I do not doubt your sincerity and love for our people, but you know as well as I that
according to our laws, any Cherokee who sells their land to settlers is a criminal and will be put
to death.
J.RIDGE
(jumps up and angrily faces ROSS)
Is the Principal Chief threatening my father?
ROSS
No one is above our laws and the matter of our ancestral homeland is most sacred.
M.RIDGE
(gestures to J.RIDGE to sit down, turns to ROSS)
Faced with the power of the federal government, we have no hope. The laws that you put such
faith in are no more than words on a paper. The Supreme Court of the United States ruled for us
in the past and this President did not enforce the law. I have seen that the power is with the
President, we must comply with his wishes or our people will perish from this earth.
ROSS
Removal has been the law since 1830, but this government has been waiting to proceed. We
must remain united in our cause. You saw what happened to other tribes; the Choctaw and
Chickasaw leaders were broken. Some of them signed treaties that others rejected. But we have
been united for so long. If no Cherokee leader puts their name to a treaty, we will have more
time. Even this President won’t act without a treaty.
J.RIDGE
Georgia has already seized our land. It will continue to do so without interference from the
President. Our fighters are no match for the state militia. Our efforts in Congress and the
Supreme Court have been in vain. Relocation is the only way and we must proceed with it at
once. No more delays; no more petitions.
ROSS
You both know as well as I, our people will not accept that. I do not accept it. We still have
support in Congress. Honorable men in the U.S. Senate have supported us in the past. Mister
Clay and Mister Webster. Men of good judgment have lent support to our just cause. And
Andrew Jackson will not live forever.
37
M.RIDGE
President Jackson is no friend to the Cherokees. Our National Council will not vote for
relocation and our time is running out. We have to accept the lands beyond the great river or
face the fate that befell so many other great nations.
J.RIDGE
The Principal Chief must act before it is too late. My father is correct. Our people simply don’t
know what is waiting for them. We are their representatives. We must save them.
ROSS
I trust in the wisdom of our people and the righteousness of our cause. I do not agree with you.
We still have time.
(Knock on the door, the actors turn toward the sound and freeze.)
NARRATOR
(steps onto the stage)
Lewis Cass. U.S. Secretary of War. A personal representative of President Jackson.
(NARRATOR leaves stage. CASS enters room. He removes his heavy overcoat and
places it on a chair. The other characters are still frozen. CASS pulls out a chair, the
other characters unfreeze and stand up.)
ROSS
Mr. Secretary, I am surprised to see you here at such an hour. What brought you here?
CASS
Gentleman...
(CASS motions to all to sit down, they all sit.)
Our negotiations in the past few days, led the President to believe that some of you are ready to
sign the treaty.
ROSS
Respectfully, Mr. Secretary, our National Council must ratify a treaty of such grave
consequences for our people. No Cherokee would…
(interrupted by M.RIDGE)
M.RIDGE
Some brave Cherokees are willing.
(ROSS looks at M.RIDGE with an angry, bewildered expression and rises from the table
and looks away.)
38
CASS
(looks at M.RIDGE)
The President and I have anticipated this. An additional twenty million dollars is offered by our
government to help with the costs of moving your people.
ROSS
No Cherokee has the power to surrender our homeland without the vote of our National Council.
This treaty will not be valid. Those who sign it are traitors to the Cherokee people.
CASS
(turns toward the M.RIDGE, ignoring ROSS)
Major Ridge, you are a wise leader. You see things clearly. A man of reason and good
judgment. The papers will be ready for your signature soon.
ROSS
Any Cherokee leader who signs such a treaty disgraces himself.
CASS
Mr. Ross. As you know Congress voted on the matter long ago. Your intransigence serves no
purpose.
ROSS
I will not be a party to this shameful act of betrayal.
(ROSS attempts to leave the room, M.RIDGE stands up to block his path to the door.)
CASS
Let Mr. Ross go.
(ROSS exits the room.)
CASS
Gentleman, I will see you both tomorrow evening. I praise your good sense and judgment.
(CASS leaves the room, J.RIDGE and M.RIDGE both stand up as he exits.)
J.RIDGE
Our people will understand, if we explain to them after we sign the treaty that there is no other
way. A new opportunity awaits us in our new homeland.
M.RIDGE
I will speak to the Council after our return. I will explain that these were the best terms we could
hope for. I know it will be hard to leave our homeland, but our nation will be saved.
39
(J.RIDGE and M.RIDGE turn to the projector screen backdrop and look up. Trail of
Tears Google Map video appears on projector, map zooms in on the route, birds eye view
flight over the trail of tears landscape plays slowly while the narrator reads the closing
lines )
NARRATOR
Ridge and his supporters signed the treaty of New Echota in December 1835. Their households
moved willingly to west of the Mississippi. John Ross tried to delay removal, but eventually all
Cherokees were forced to leave by the United States army. Thousands died on the trail, from
hunger, disease and exposure to the bitter cold. In June 1839, Major Ridge, John Ridge and
some of their associates were assassinated by people close to the Ross faction.
END
40
Indian Removal Map Backdrop
41
Indian Removal
Additional Classroom Activities
42
Additional Classroom Activities as Extensions for this Unit
1. Create murals of the journey the Indians took on the Trail of Tears.
2. Pretend you are a Cherokee child and write a letter to a family member expressing your
emotions about your experience on the Trail of Tears.
3. Pretend you are a 30 year old US citizen farmer that lives in Georgia during the Indian
Removal Act. Write a letter to a family member expressing your opinions on the act.
4. Research the most common types of foods that were consumed by the Cherokee. What
were the means for growing and gathering food? How did it change when they were
“moved” to a different place?
5. Role play the debate between Cherokee leaders and the American government. A useful
website with primary source documents to evaluate is located at:
<http://lincoln.lib.niu.edu/teachers/lesson5cherokee.html>
43
Indian Removal
Annotated Bibliography
44
Annotated Bibliography (DBQ Documents)
Document: Indian Removal Act of 1830, A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S.
Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774 – 1875, Statutes at Large, 21st Congress, 1st
Session. Retrieved from http://memory.loc.gov/cgibin/ampage?collId=llsl&fileName=004/llsl004.db&recNum=458
On May 26, 1830, the Indian Removal Act of 1830 was passed by the Twenty-First Congress of
the United States of America. After four months of strong debate, Andrew Jackson signed the
bill into law. It provided for “voluntary” resettlement of tribes living east of the Mississippi
River to lands west of the Mississippi River.
Document: Worcester v. Georgia 1832. Retrieved from http://www.civicsonline.org/library/formatted/texts/worcester.html
Supreme Court case involving Worcester who worked and resided with the Cherokee and
refused to obey a recently passed Georgia law prohibiting "white persons" from residing within
the Cherokee Nation without permission from the state. Justice C.J. Marshall issued the majority
opinion.
In the court case Worcester v. Georgia, the U.S. Supreme Court held in 1832 that the Cherokee
Indians constituted a nation holding distinct sovereign powers. Although the decision became the
foundation of the principle of tribal sovereignty in the twentieth century, it did not protect the
Cherokees from being removed from their ancestral homeland in the Southeast.
Document: The Cherokee Trail of Tears Timeline 1838. Retrieved from
http://www.wishop.com/history/indian/trailoftearstimeline/trailoftearstimeline.htm
Month by month timeline of events associated with the Trail of Tears during the year 1838.
Document: Great Heroes of Real Estate: Indian Removal Act of 1830. Retrieved from
http://www.docstoc.com/docs/2132124/The-Indian-Removal-Act-of-1830Cartoon of Jackson twenty dollar bill with a stamp of the slogan listed above.
Document: U.S. Constitution: Fifth Amendment. Retrieved from
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/constitution/amendment05/
Fifth Amendment to the Constitution sets forth the due process and takings clauses.
Document: President Jackson's Message to Congress "On Indian Removal", December 6, 1830;
Records of the United States Senate, 1789-1990; Record Group 46; Records of the United States
Senate, 1789-1990; National Archives.
45
On December 6, 1830, in a message to Congress, President Andrew Jackson called for the
relocation of eastern Native American tribes to land west of the Mississippi River, in order to
open new land for settlement by citizens of the United States.
Document: Senator Peleg Sprague, Senate Debate on Indian Removal Bill, April 16, 1830.
Retrieved from http://lincoln.lib.niu.edu/teachers/lesson5-groupb.html#sprague
Speech by Senator Peleg of Maine, who opposed the Indian Removal Act. The Act was faced
with strong opposition and passed the Senate by just one vote.
Document: “Treaty at Hopewell with the Cherokee Nation.” The Library of Congress American
Memory Collection 31 Jan 1786. 24 April 2007 Retrieved from http://memory.loc.gov/cgibin/query/r?ammem/bdsdcc:@field(DOCID+@lit(bdsdcc18101))
The Treaty at Hopewell defined the Cherokee’s boundaries by selecting an area of land by the
rivers that flow around it. It also guarantees the Cherokee Nation’s independence from state
governments. The treaty states that the US government would not come to the aide of white
squatters and recognized tribal authority.
Document: Cherokee Land Maps – Original Claims, 1791, and Before Removal 1838.
Retrieved from http://www.cherokeehistory.com/original.gif;
http://www.cherokeehistory.com/cne1791.gif; and
http://www.cherokeehistory.com/cne1838.gif
Sequence of maps showing Cherokee Nation lands from prior to European settlement through
Indian Removal.
Document: “The Trail of Tears,” poem. Retrieved from
http://www.docstoc.com/docs/2132124/The-Indian-Removal-Act-of-1830-Questions
Poem from the point of view of a Cherokee walking the Trail of Tears.
46