Cherokee Population Losses During Trail Of Tears : A New Perspective

Before reading On The Rez, I had little knowledge Native American history. The Cherokee tribe is well known for the heartbreak they endured in 1838-1839. The Cherokee tribe was forced to move from their land, causing multiple casualties. Frazier writes about the event stating, “of the Cherokee’s suffering in the stockades and along the trail, of the death of more than four thousand Cherokee, about a third of the population of the tribe, before the removal was through” (Frazier 75). The way Frazier writes about the Cherokee tribe is descriptive, furthermore giving the reader a greater understanding of the struggles Native Americans have endured.

In 1838, American soldiers entered their homes, burned them to the ground, and forced them to pick up what little they had and start to move west. This sent the Cherokee indians on the famous Trail of Tears, known for being completely devastating to their population due to the harsh journey, disease, and starvation that took place. Most historians have estimated that, “with reason, over 4,000 Cherokee died as the direct result of the removal” (Thornton 292). Due to the little resources and lack of data that is available for the population of the tribe, it is somewhat uncertain of the exact amount that died. However, Russell Thornton is able to estimate through reasoning and available data that the loss of the Cherokee population during the Trail of Tears is actually much larger and possibly double than what previous historians have estimated. Thornton looks specifically at the population of the tribe throughout history in order to determine the loss during the whole relocation period and also what the size of the tribe would have been if this tragic event had not

This article is mainly about what happened to the Cherokee. “By 1838, I had become an expert rifleman and a good trapper. I was a young man ready for a new life, so I signed up to be a private in the American Army. In the same year, the Cherokee Indians were being moved from their lifelong homes.” (Burnett) This can be proven Coach Nicholson 56. “Somebody must explain the 4,000 silent graves that mark the western trail of the Cherokee.” (Burnett) This can be proven in Coach Nicholson 56 because it says 4,000 people died.

Nations of dependent Indians, against their will, under color of law, are driven from their homes into the wilderness. You cannot explain it; you cannot reason it away.... Our friends will view this measure with sorrow, and our enemies alone

As outlined in the treaty, the Cherokee were to cede their lands east of the Mississippi River in exchange for territory in the west” (Theda, and Green. ‘The Cherokee Nation and the Trail of Tears.’ New Echota, p. 98). The requirement, for relocation, highlights a power disparity between the Cherokee Nation and the United States Government. In the face of Cherokee objections and demonstrations, the conditions of the treaty were forced upon them, leading to the Trail of

Americans hunted, imprisoned, raped, and murdered Native Americans. Cherokees surviving the onslaught were forced on a 1,00-mile march to the established Indian Territory with few provisions. Approximately 4,000 Cherokees died on this “Trail of Tears”. (Library of Congress 1)

Thornton asserts in his abstract that the number of Cherokees who died may have been twice the currently accepted number. However, this is not what he says the number of Cherokees . He argues that the losses of the Cherokee Nation should be determined based upon the number of Cherokee who would have lived, not the ones who died, a vital distinction when one considers the drastic reduction in birth rate immediately following removal. However, when reading this article, one must take into account the potential for bias outside of confidence in one’s research. It is possible that as a Cherokee,

Having little knowledge of the Cherokee removal and the history that took place in this moment in America’s past, the book Trail of Tears: Rise and Fall of the Cherokee Nation by John Ehle, offers an insight to the politics, social dynamics and class struggles the Cherokee Nation faced in the late 1830s. The book was very comprehensive and the scope of the book covers nearly 100 years of Native American History. Ehle captures the history of the Native American people by showing the readers what led to the events infamously known as the Trail of Tears. The author uses real military orders, journals, and letters which aid in creating a book that keeps

The Trail of Tears represents one of the most catastrophic eras in the history of the United States. It was the start of the Cherokee tribe’s extermination. The Cherokee Indians have existed on this mainland way longer than anybody of British background however, they were removed in a ruthless style, from their homeland, on which they have lived for countless centuries. This paper will show and prove the detrimental effect it had on the Cherokee. It will be expressed through the way they existed before they were forced off, address the situation that led to their elimination, explain the conditions of travel, and tell what has happened to the Cherokee following the Trail of Tears.

There are many new and existing information that I received from reading Deculturalization and the Struggle for Equality. One of the already existing ideas that I recall from my high school history classes were the aspects of The Trail of Tears. This is a well-known event because it demonstrated a cruelty among the Indian. By having them leave their lands they endured so much suffering into a path of death. What was horrible after the trail was what happened to the remaining Cherokees that didn’t want to move from their lands. As stated in the reading, “General Scott issued a proclamation within a month every Cherokee men, woman, and child should be headed west. Scott’s troops moved through countryside surrounding houses, removing the occupants, looting and burning houses, and forcing the family into stockades. Men and women were run down in the

Not knowing how to cultivate the land or domesticate animals, the Cherokee at a standstill. The Whites, who knew how to cultivate the land and domesticate animals, would have been able to utilize the land to its fullest potential instead of withering away precious resources. The Whites tried various methods to persuade the Cherokee to part with their land, but they refused and were frequently abused. “… we have come to the conclusion that this nation cannot be reinstated in its present location, and that the question left to us and to every Cherokee, is, whether it is more desirable to remain here, with all the embarrassments with which we must be surrounded, or to seek a country where we may enjoy our own laws, and live under our own vine and fig-tree.” If the Cherokee had agreed to relocate further west, they would not have had to go through adversity. The Whites would have left them alone, free to create their own laws and free to do what they wanted. The Cherokee pushed their source of food westward leaving a shortage of deer and buffalo and they did not have the knowledge or resources to cultivate the land. Due to these facts, they were not self-sufficient and would not have been able to survive using their outdated methods of living. Compared to the Whites, the Cherokee population was miniscule, spread across a vast amount of land. “The

Most Americans have at least some vague image of the Trail of Tears, but not very many know of the events that led to that tragic removal of several thousand Indians from their homeland. Indian lands were held hostage by the states and the federal government, and Indians had to agree to removal to preserve their identity as tribes. Trail of Tears is an excellent snapshot of a particular situation and will be eye opening to those who are not familiar with the story of the southern tribes and their interactions with the burgeoning American population. The Trail of Tears has become the symbol in American history that signifies the callousness of American policy makers toward American Indians in 1839 and 1839.

In the year of 1828, the president Andrew Jackson was appointed to the office of the American government with this the fact of the remaining Indians tribes were important which were named “The Five Civilized Tribes” including the Cherokee and with the pass of the “Treaty of Etocha” forced the Cherokee out of the land of Georgia also known as the “Trail of Tears” where thousands upon thousands of Cherokee were killed during the extraction of the Cherokee’s land.

Most of us have learnt about the Trail of Tears as an event in American history, but not many of us have ever explored why the removal of the Indians to the West was more than an issue of mere land ownership. Here, the meaning and importance of land to the original Cherokee Nation of the Southeastern United States is investigated. American land was seen as a way for white settlers to profit, but the Cherokee held the land within their hearts. Their removal meant much more to them than just the loss of a material world. Historical events, documentations by the Cherokee, and maps showing the loss of Cherokee land work together to give a true Cherokee

With the discovery of the New World came a whole lot of new problems. Native American Indians lived in peace and harmony until European explorers interrupted that bliss with the quest for money and power. The European explorers brought with them more people. These people and their descendants starting pushing the natives out of their homes, out of their land, far before the 1800s. However, in the 1800s, the driving force behind the removal of the natives intensified. Thousands of indians during this time were moved along the trail known as Nunna dual Tsung, meaning “The Trail Where They Cried” (“Cherokee Trail of Tears”). The Trail of Tears was not only unjust and unconstitutional, but it also left many indians sick, heartbroken, and dead.