Trail Of Tears Research Paper

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 life decisions are made and whether they are good or not is determined by future generations. In the case of Worcester vs. Georgia, the Indian Removal Act was set not to be passed. Our president Andrew Jackson challenged the authority of the Judicial branch, as once they made their decision, he challenged their power to enforce it. Thus, violating the system of checks and balances, which is considered unconstitutional. The act was then passed, leading to the removal of the Indians, during the removal process hundreds of innocent indians died and were killed, on a path now known as the trail of tears. The Indian Removal Act was a step in the wrong direction because it led many Native Americans into suffering, the decision for the act violated the system of checks and

Another cause for poor relations between Native Americans and European Settlers was the constant push for acquiring new land by the Colonists. The Native Americans did not just want to give up their land and this resulted in war between the Indians and the Colonists. During this time Native Americans were sold into slavery belittled and removed from their land, due to the fact that the Colonists had more advanced technology and weapons. One of the major wars was the French and Indian War which resulted in the removal of Native Americans from their land and many casualties on both sides. Over time many battles were fought over land, even after America was an established country with presidents, laws, and court systems. Native Americans were continually pushed out of their land for hundreds of years while they were forced to move west. The constant push of Native Americans out of their land would cause an event known as the Trail of Tears where thousands of Indians were removed from their land by the Indian Removal Act. “In 1830 the Congress of the United States passed the "Indian Removal Act." Although many Americans were against the act, most notably Tennessee Congressman Davy Crockett, it passed anyway. President Jackson quickly signed the bill into law. The Cherokees attempted to fight removal legally by challenging the removal laws in the Supreme Court and by establishing an

Long ago on the great plains, the buffalo roamed and the Native Americans lived amongst each other. They were able to move freely across the lands until the white men came and concentrated them into certain areas. Today there are more than five-hundred different tribes with different beliefs and history. Native Americans still face problems about the horrific history they went through and today 's discrimination. The removal of American Indian tribes is one of the most tragic events in American history. There are many treaties that have been signed by American representatives and people of Indian tribes that guaranteed peace and the values of the Indian territories. The treaties were to assure that fur trade would continue without interruption. The American people wanting Indian land has led to violent conflict between the two. Succeeding treaties usually forced the tribes to give up their land to the United States government. There were laws made for Native American Displacement that didn’t benefit the Native Americans, these laws still have long lasting effects on them today, and there was a huge number of Native Americans killed for many reasons.

In the case of Worcester vs. Georgia, Jackson disagreed with the court and went his own way, going against the law and taking the power for himself. The Native Americans were forced out of Georgia, their home, and moved to Oklahoma against their will. The Cherokee were dragged thousands of miles away from their home at gun point after they won the court case. Jackson’s job was to enforce the law but he refused and the Cherokee were forced out. Document #3 is a report from the court case Worcester vs. Georgia. “The court ruled in the Cherokee’s favor… President Jackson refused to enforce the verdict…” (Doc #3). This document is unbiased because it states the reason for actions on both sides. Jackson’s

In 1832 gold was found on the land of Native American tribes. The government wanted to get the gold for themselves, so that pains many Native Americans for their land. One group of Native Americans, the Cherokees, refused to give up their land. There was a court ruling in the case Worcester vs. Georgia which officially made it unconstitutional to remove the Cherokees from their land. After the ruling Jackson was quoted in saying "John Marshall has made his decision now let him enforce it." Jackson then brought military forces into the Native Americans land and force them to walk to reservations. The trail that they walked to get to their reservations is now called the trail of tears because an estimated 7,000 to 13,000 Cherokees died along the path.

Per, Mintz and McNeil in the article “Indian Removal” the authors were trying to give us an example of why the supreme court and the executive branch did not work well with the systems of checks and balances by writing,” The supreme court ruled, the states could not pass laws conflicting with the federal Indian treaties and that the federal government had an obligation to exclude white intruders from native lands”(Mintz McNeil). This is saying, that the supreme court has made a verdict on the Indian tribes and the government has the duty to exclude whites from the land, but president Jackson still kicks the Native Americans out. This proves that, when the supreme court made their verdict to decide if the Native American lands were open to the whites, then the supreme court decided, whites were not allowed into native lands but the President did not listen to the supreme court and Jackson decided to make his own rules and kick the Native Americans out of their lands. Another example is, that president Andrew Jackson sort of encourages Georgia to defy the supreme court and kick out the Native Americans, when author Tim Garrison wrote,” Georgia ignored the supreme court's ruling… and continued to press the

During the Worcester v. Georgia case the Judicial branch declared the extension of “Georgia's extension of State law over them to be unconstitutional” However the state of Georgia did not follow the ruling. When the Chief Justice turned to Andrew Jackson he refused to enforce the law. By not enforcing this law, “Jackson violated his presidential oath to uphold the laws of the land.” Overall Jackson abused his power by not doing what he is supposed to do, instead doing what he wants to

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.

The Trail of Tears played a part in what is known as the Manifest Destiny, which was the expansion of the colonists to the west and also was a significant cause of the Civil War. The Trail of Tears elevated tensions between American settlers and the Native Americans. Native Americans lost trust in the American government because the government allowed settlers and soldiers to force and physically remove them from their ancestral lands and homes. By eliminating the Indians from their lands, the Manifest Destiny became well on its way to being fulfilled and bring settlers to new lands and riches. This was one cause of the Civil War as it caused tension between people the colonists America and between the Native Americans. Gold was found on the

During the Georgia Gold Rush, the land in Georgia was taken from the Cherokees. This meant the Indians would have to leave. In 1838, the infamous Trail of Tears took place to get rid of the Indians. They forced all of the Indians to get their stuff and leave. They were forced to march further west into America. Many Indians lost their lives on the Trail of Tears. All the land they were forced off of was distributed to the whites through a lottery.

In reading Alfred A. Caves’ article, it says that Jackson violated treaties that the U.S. had with the Indians in order to remove them from their land. It says that the government “misunderstood and often times misrepresent the provisions of the law” . Many times the treaties with the Indians were not seen as actual agreement that the government didn’t have to follow and abide by what was said in the agreement. When the Indian Removal Act came along in 1830, the act made things even more complicated. One of the

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.

Long ago on the great plains, the buffalo roamed and the Native Americans lived amongst each other. They were able to move freely across the lands until the white men came and concentrated them into certain areas. Today there are more than five-hundred different tribes with different beliefs and history. Native Americans still face problems about the horrific history they went through and today 's discrimination. The removal of American Indian tribes is one of the most tragic events in American history. There are many treaties that have been signed by American representatives and people of Indian tribes that guaranteed peace and the values of the Indian territories. The treaties were to assure that fur trade would continue without interruption. The American people wanting Indian land has led to violent conflict between the two. Succeeding treaties usually forced the tribes to give up their land to the United States government. There were laws made for Native American Displacement that didn’t benefit the Native Americans, these laws still have long lasting effects on them today, and there was a huge number of Native Americans killed for many reasons.