The Cherokee Indians: The Trail Of Tears

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.

The Cherokees were natives to the new land before the europeans came to colonized it.

Cherokee Indians have been around for many years, but when the topic of Native Americans is discussed it is only about the struggles and hardships they went through but never their actual culture of how and where they originated or how they came to be. There are many interesting things to learn about Cherokee Indians such as their heritage, religion, language, and their traditional songs, dances, and food.

Throughout Jackson’s presidency, Jackson was prone to making questionable decisions. One of Jackson’s most monumental blunders was when he decided to relocate tens of thousands of innocent Native Americans. Jackson was a huge fan of the idea of Americans moving westward to unsettled areas. The Native Americans occupied the areas that Jackson wanted to transform into American cities. That did not halt Jackson from doing what he desired. Jackson displayed his egocentric behavior and called for the Indian Removal Act of 1830. Jackson wanted to move the Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw and Seminole nations from their southeastern homes to Oklahoma. The Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw and Seminole nations all somewhat cooperatively deserted their homes at the request of the Americans with little fight. These nations forfeited their land, homes and possessions to walk the Trail of Tears, an 850-mile path from the southeastern states to Oklahoma. American soldiers forcefully kept the Natives moving without breaks. Throughout the trek, thousands of Natives died from sickness and starvation. One tribe, the Cherokees from Georgia,

Some wanted to fight to keep the land that their family has lived on forever.

The Chickasaw Tribe was named after a Chickasaw Leader named Chikasha. The story is that two brothers Chata and Chickasha who were leaders and they split in different directions and the people that followed them was given the tribal name of Choctaw and Chickasaw.

The Cherokee Indians were mainly know for living in the southeastern part of the United States of America. But they had moved around several different areas before they discovered their so thought "forever home." They lived there until they were forced to leave to Oklahoma during the trail of tears. Lots of us have heard of the "Smokey Mountains," and the Smokey Mountains is where the Cherokee Indians were famous for living at. Now the area they

Cherokee are a Native American tribe who mainly live in the southeastern United States and in Oklahoma. They believe that are two classes of the thunder beings, those who live close to the Earth, and those who live in the land of the west beyond the Mississippi and visit the people to bring rains and blessings from the South. They believe that the thunder beings who live close to the Earth's surface can and do

Until 1828, the federal government agreed that Cherokee had rights to their land, but when Andrew Jackson was elected President, that all ended. Jackson refused to believe that the tribes were sovereign and thus viewed Indian treaties, as an absurdity

The Cherokee are a culturally rich and interesting tribe. They write amazing myths, focusing on creation and nature. In its prime, the Cherokee nation spanned over an estimated 100,000 miles. The people in it respected the universe. They only took from the what was needed from the environment. They were a peaceful tribe that knew very well how the land around them worked.

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.

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

Even though Andrew Jackson was not in office at that time he still managed to pass the action. Congress not having any power in Jackson they did not stop his activities. Jackson took 7,000 Army soldiers that marched down to the Cherokee land and they began to forcibly relocate the 17,000 thousand Cherokee. They invaded their land which was illegal, but he ignored all laws and force them out of their homeland. This led to the Trail of Tears of 1838; The Cherokee nation was exposed to harsh weather, diseases, and starvation. During this march to finding a new homeland about 4,000 thousand Cherokee citizens died because of everything, they were exposed to. Andrew Jackson is the only one responsible for their death. Therefore the Indian Removal Act of 1830, was wrong and it is responsible for the death of all these people in the Trail of

Many people have heard of the Trail of Tears, a long and arduous journey that many Cherokees were forced to make, but much less people know of the injustice and discrimination that all Cherokees faced in the years leading up the removal of the Cherokees. And though the removal of the Cherokees was completely illegal, the United States government still sought to justify the Cherokee removal with ideas that in retrospect proved to be mostly opinions and exaggerations.

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.