The Trail of Tears Essay example - 668 Words

When people tink about the first people in America, they might think of Christopher Columbus or the European colonists; when, in fact, the first people were the Indians. The Cherokee Indians had lived in the lands of what is now the United States for thousands of years before any colonists had ventured over. Little did they know that the new nation that was going to be forming around them, would severely affect the lives of their descendents. Life before the Trail of Tears but after the arrival of the new Americans was more or less simple for the Cherokees. They spend time hunting and fishing. Some of them even worked on plantations and even own their own slaves, in an effort to accommodate to some of the American ways of living.†¦show more content†¦However, many of the members of the tribe disagreed and continued to move away to Arkansas to escape the shites. Some Americans could not wait for any further moving of the Indians, turned up on the Indian land, and started settling. Andrew Jackson wanted all of the Indians to be removed east of the Mississippi River so when he was elected President in 1828, the Indians were in trouble. Congress passed the Indian Removal Acts in 1830, which gave the President of the United States the power to force all the Indians to relocate west of the Mississippi. If that werent enough of a reason to have the Indians leave the territory, gold was discovered in the Cherokee a rea that same year. At this point, people from all over were traveling to Georgia to find some fold for themselves. Cherokee rights were also decreasing. They were no longer allowed to have businesses; they couldnt testify against the white in court, and they were prohibited to mind for the gold. Majjor Ridge and his family had decided that enough was enough and that they should just retreat from the area. John Ross on the other hand had decided that the Indians should continue to fight for the land because they were there first. Tragically for the Indians, the 1835 Treaty of Echota was illegitimately signed and approved saying that all of the Indians were to move to the west side of the Mississippi River in exchange for fiveShow MoreRelatedTrail of Tears1191 Words   |  5 PagesTitle of the Lesson: Trail of Tears Content Area(s): Social Studies, Literature, Technology Unit of Study: Trail of Tears/US History Grade Level: 4-6 Time Frame: Comprehensive Unit/Lesson scheduled to take 3 weeks including reading of novel and a few different projects NCSS Themes: 1. Culture, 2. Time, Continuity and Change 3. People, Places Environment 4. Individual Development and Identity 5. Individuals, Groups, and Institutions 6. Power, authority, and governance Standards: Read MoreThe Trail Of Tears1511 Words   |  7 Pagesbackground of every great civilization it is very easy to see that every civilization has a dark past. For example the United States has shameful things to look back on such as slavery and the forceful moving of the indian tribes also known as the Trail of Tears. This shows that although the country is great and well developed today they all had to do something to get to where they are today. Italy is one of the most influential countries today. This where Christianity, Mythology, and also it was wereRead More Trail of Tears Essay1511 Words   |  7 PagesTrail of Tears Within United States History, there has been some horrible discrimination upon certain races of people. At the trail of tears native Americans were persecuted against heavily. Until 1828 the federal government had Cherokee rights to their land and in that same year Andrew Jackson was elected president and this all ended. On September 15, 1830, at Little Dancing Rabbit Creek, the Chiefs of tribes and representatives of the United States met to discuss a bill recently passed by theRead MoreThe Road Of The Trail Of Tears1334 Words   |  6 PagesThe Trail of Tears has been one of the most controversial government sponsored events in American History. Was America justified in destroying a culture in its pursuit of Manifest Destiny, or did they feel it was their only option in this matter at the time? Based on research, I feel that the American policy of Indian removal and relocation was extremely unethical and unjustified in its motives and execution. Before Europeans arrived in present-day America, the Native Americans were living on millionsRead More The Trail of Tears Essay2169 Words   |  9 PagesThe Trail of Tears â€Å"The Trail of Tears† was a despicable event in American history because of our government’s inhumane treatment of the Cherokee Nation. To the Cherokee Nation, the journey west, called by them â€Å"The Trail Where We Cried,† was a bitter pill forced upon them by a state and federal government that cared little for their culture or society, and even less about justice. To the white settlers, it meant expanding horizons, hope, dreams of riches, and a new life. It wasRead More The Trail of Tears Essay1166 Words   |  5 PagesThe Trail of Tears I walked into the room on New Year’s Day and felt a sudden twinge of fear. My eyes already hurt from the tears I had shed and those tears would not stop even then the last viewing before we had to leave. She lay quietly on the bed with her face as void of emotion as a sheet of paper without the writing. Slowly, I approached the cold lifeless form that was once my mother and gave her a goodbye kiss. I looked around at everyone in the room and saw the sorrow in theirRead MoreThe Trail Of Tears By James Collins1452 Words   |  6 PagesJames Collins Donald West History 201 December 1, 2015 TRAIL OF TEARS The trail of tears is also referred to as the period of Indian s removal. It was a period where Native Americans in the U.S were forcefully relocated following the removal of Indian Removal Act of 1830. Those who were forcibly moved were from Cherokee, Muscogee, Seminole, and Chickasaw and Choctaw nations in the southern U.S, an area initially referred to as the Indian Territory. Migration from Cherokee nation had begun in theRead MoreThe Trail Of Tears By Amy Sturgis1286 Words   |  6 PagesThe Trail of Tears was a huge turning point seen by Amy Sturgis, as clearly shown in her chapter, â€Å"The Trail of Tears as a Turning Point†. Sturgis have separated how the Trail of Tears has affected history into three categories: the world, the US, and for the Cherokee Nation. All three categories intermingle, affecting one another with either a positive or a negative feedback. The United States perspective on the Native people has drastically changed from President to President. â€Å"George WashingtonRead MoreThe Trail Of Tears : American History1631 Words   |  7 PagesWhen people hear about the Trail of Tears, the only thought to really pop up in their mind is a bunch of Indians died while being forced to emigrate from their homes. Many people believe that the Trail of Tears revolves only around the Cherokee Indians because the name came from their language. Of the Cherokee who made it to the west without death taking them, they called this forced removal, â€Å"Nunna Daul Isunyi—The Trail Where We Cried† (Langguth, 311). The Trail of Tears is a blackspot on AmericanRead MoreThe Trail Of Tears As A Turning Point995 Words   |  4 Pages The Trail of Tears as a Turning Point The Cherokee nation, located in North Carolina before their removal, now locate it in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. A great city of great and wonderful people. The trail of tears, which means the place where they cried, does not only describe the removal of the Cherokees from their land, but it also describes the death of so many of them and the loss of their traditional and gorgeous houses. Nowadays, Cherokee descent had created a play that describe what happened to