Compare And Contrast Trail Of Tears And Holocaust

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.

To the Cherokee Nation, the journey west, called by them “The Trail Where We Cried,”

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

Throughout history, many groups of people have been forced to work without pay. The Jewish people of the holocaust and African American people are no different. In Germany and Europe in 1933 to 1945. Hitler went to power and gathered people support. Hitler and Nazis want to kill the Jewish people from Germany and soon expanded to Europe. Millions of Jewish people were forced out of the homes and sent to camps to work until death. Similarly, to the slavery, when African American were forced out of Africa and out of their homes to America because Americans wanted free labor, so they could make more money. They were brought them to the southern part of America and sold to other Americans. Although the Holocaust and slavery both forced people to work hours every day, there are many differences including the cause of the events.

On May 28, 1830, the Indian Removal Act was passed. It stated that the Native American were to be removed from the Southern states (Indian Removal Act). The act ended the Native American’s right to live in the states under their own traditional laws (Indian Removal Act). They were given the options to assimilate and acknowledge the United States’ laws or leave (Indian Removal Act). They were forced to leave their land, their homes, everything they ever knew or face the consequences. They were forced to go to a land that they knew nothing about, and hope that they would be able to survive where ever they ended up. When the Cherokee were forced to leave, out of the 18,000 that left 4,000 died on the way (Primary Documents) As a result of all of the death on the trail, it was named the Trail of Tears (Primary Documents).

On the Other side the Native American removal can’t be compared with the Holocaust. The death count, the most I believe Native American death would be around forty thousand,the Holocaust death was more than two hundred thousand deaths. Another reason that these two can’t be compared is the Native American got clothing unlike the Holocaust Jews bearly got any clothing. Native American were able to hunt for food in a fenced off area it was completly different then the Holocaust Jews not recieving any food at all.

Throughout history of the world , we have experienced many horrific occurrences, two of these being the Holocaust and Japanese internment. Although both of these incidents are terrible, the Holocaust was much worse. The Jewish people were put ti to concentration camps but by Nazis by Adolph Hitler was racist towards them. The Japanese were relocated to internment camps. The way of life in these camps are way worse then anyone knows.

The Trail of Tears is one of the most shameful episodes in the history of the United States for many reasons. This chain of expulsions forced Indian populations from their ancestral lands in the Southeastern United States to settle in a region west of the Mississippi River that had been selected as Indian Territory. Encouraged by white settlers, the U.S. government suddenly ruled that it was time for the Indians to sacrifice land that they had called home for thousands of years. Stricken with a hunger for gold and a thirst for territorial expansion, the Anglo people betrayed their Indian neighbors. The sequence of forced removals were made possible by numerous government powers

During the Holocaust many Jews were hidden in fear. Force to live together and make a living. There was no discrimination of age of Jews. Jews old and young alike were persecuted. Like the three teens named Margot Frank, Anne Frank, and Peter Van Daan. These teens have

Thousands of captives trudged through rain on a muddy road. The scent of rain combined with the stench of rotting bodies was unbearable. Children, raggedy and heartbroken, wailing for food and their home, forcefully taken from them. Parents lamenting in anguish for their home-deprived children. The sadness hung in the air like a branch above the hostages’ heads. Bodies, bruised and broken, lying on the side of the road, hurriedly thrown down without a proper burial. Birds mocking the prisoners from their hiding places. Soldiers shrieked at the convicts, the words coming out of their mouths, tasting like eternal bondage to the native people. A death trail stretching toward the unknown west, not telling what it leads to. The Trail of Tears is a cloud over American history. The Cherokee Trail of Tears led to effects in the Nation and was a discouraging time in the history of Native Americans.

This first hand account by John G Burnett, a member of the 2nd Regiment, 2nd Brigade, Mounted Infantry, was written in 1890 as a letter to his children and paints a descriptive picture of the brutality of the Trail of Tears (“Two Accounts of the Trail of Tears”). The Trail of Tears was a tragic event, but was unavoidable due to the circumstances of the time. Many factors preceding the Trail of Tears have been proven to be catalyst for the tragic event. The Trail of Tears was when the United States Army forced the Cherokee indians from their home and made them move west of the Mississippi. There were people who were for the Trail of Tears and those who were not. Some factors which made the Trail of Tears inevitable were the growing population of America, the attitude of Americans toward natives, and the president of the time.

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.

The Trail of Tears is no exaggeration as to what happened when the Indians were forced to abandon their home. Having to move to a completely different state with no real explanation as to why, one must wonder, how could this happen? It is hard to imagine how someone could justify uprooting thousands of people. Treated unfairly with all claims being ignored, the Indians were forced to move. With legalization by the government it is clear to see how easy it is for history repeats itself.

Many were driven from their homes to reservations, or forced to bend a knee to the "white man 's" ways. One tribe, the Cherokee, was compelled to leave their lands in Oklahoma by the United States Government. Compelled to march with the provisions and belongings they could carry upon their back or horse, many died of exposure, starvation, or disease. (Trail) This event came to be known as “The Trail of Tears”. These people were forced from their lands, homes, worship sites, and ancestral burial grounds in the name of progress. Foreign progress, to them, if I may add. They, at their core, did not care that Continental America was flourishing. They only wanted to be left alone in their ancestral homeland. Now, in their eyes, they were being persecuted for their faith and culture. One group of Sioux stood up against the tide of imperialism. They were victorious at the Battle of Little Bighorn, but were defeated at the massacre of Wounded Knee. Wounded Knee was the final major conflict that put the majority of the Native Americans in their “place”. The Sioux under Big Foot were ordered to give up their fire arms. They responded with a reply, saying they had none. The medicine man began to dance the “Ghost Dance” frantically, while wearing paint. The soldiers, fearing an outbreak of violence was about to occur, opened fire. When the haze of smoke had cleared, the bodies of men,

Most Americans have at least some vague understanding of the Trail of Tears, but not many know about the events that led to that tragic removal of thousands of Indians from their homeland. Indian lands were held hostage by the states and the federal government. The Indians had to agree to removal to maintain their tribe identities. Trail of Tears is an excellent example 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 rapidly growing American population. The Trail of Tears has become the symbol in American history that indicates the callousness, insensitivity, and cruelty of American government toward American Indians in 1839 and 1839.