THE TRAIL OF TEARS
Westward Expansion, at the expense of the innocent.
Unit 7, Journal #2

In a T-Chart in your journals, list five different ways that white
settlers have interacted positively and five ways that they have
interacted negatively with the Native Americans.
Positive Interactions

Negative Interactions
Then, below the chart, create an argument for whether you feel the treatment
of Native Americans has been just, peaceful, or violent since Europeans set foot
on American soil.
The Cherokee



Since the end of the War of 1812, some
southeastern tribes have adopted the European
way of life.
These tribes (five, including the Cherokee) became
known as the Five Civilized Tribes
The Cherokee had created a formal government, a
court system, and a constitution.
Introduction


It is 1830. The
population of U.S.
citizens in Georgia is
growing rapidly and
pushing into the western
portions of the state.
However, the Cherokee
nation occupies a large
area of western
Georgia.
Introduction

Treaties signed between the United States and the
Cherokees guaranteed them the rights to this land
 Settlers
have begun to move into these territories
 Sparks conflicts with the Cherokees

The discovery of gold within the Cherokee territory
in 1828 has only made the situation worse.
Jackson and Removal


President Jackson thought that assimilation could not
work.
President Jackson urges the Committee on Indian
Affairs to draft a bill allowing the President the
power to order the removal of all Native Americans
living east of the Mississippi River to designated
lands west of the Mississippi.
Foreshadowing

Please describe one thing that you feel this bill
might cause.
 IDEAS:
 If
the Cherokee were to disapprove, what would happen?
 If successful, what would such a removal entail?
POEM

How has the Trail of Tears been remembered?
ACTIVITY


I will assign you either #1 or #2.
Then, you will create a drawing that depicts one of the
following sides:
1. If you are a #1, you will be drawing from the
perspective of Andrew Jackson and Indian Removal
supporters. You do NOT have to draw the Trail of Tears,
but rather, what you find to be a great benefit in their
removal.
 2. If you are a #2, you will be drawing from the
perspective of the Cherokee nation and Indian Removal
opposition. You also do not have to draw about the Trail of
Tears, but about your feelings of being forced to move from
your home.

DEBATE
UNJUST
NECESSARY
- John Marshall, Chief Justice: believed
that the Cherokee had an
“unquestionable right” to their territory
- Jackson: the Indian Removal Act will
put an end to all danger of collision
between the State and National govt’s
in regards to the Indians
- Promised borders
- Inhumane and cruel
A Georgia soldier who took part in the
expulsion said, "I've seen loads blood
and guts in my time, but the removal of
the Cherokees was the hardest thing I
ever did."
- Jackson: the Removal would protect
Natives from further encroachment
- Cherokee should accommodate
themselves according to the inevitable
changes in conditions
Conclusion

So what ultimately happened?
 The
Indian Removal bill passed in both houses of
Congress by a narrow margin and was signed into law
by President Jackson.
 The Cherokees responded by declaring themselves to
be a sovereign nation not under the control of the
United States, a declaration upheld by the Supreme
Court.
 This
meant that the U.S. government could not order them to
move west of the Mississippi River unless the two nations
came to an official agreement on the issue.
Conclusion



The federal government provided the funds to negotiate
treaties that would force the Native Americans to move west.
About 90 treaties were signed.
In 1838, upon Jackson’s orders, U.S. troops began rounding
up members of the Cherokee nation and forcibly marching
them to a reservation on the western side of the Mississippi
on what became known as the "Trail of Tears."
Jackson claimed that the Removal Act was both liberal and
generous because they could maintain their ways of life.
Conclusion

The Cherokee took an 800 mile trip westward.
 About
¼ of their people died
 Government officials took their money
 Robbers made off with their livestock

The Cherokee reached their destination, but the
land there was far inferior to what they had been
forced to leave.
Was the Trail of Tears necessary or
morally unjust?