Indian Removal and the Trail of Tears SWBAT: describe the impact the Trail of Tears had on Cherokee Indians. Homework: study guides are due next Thursday (CP). Do Now: Look at the image on the screen and answer the questions on the do now sheet.

The Trail of Tears Robert Lindneux, 1942

Early Solutions to the Indian Problem  White Americans, particularly those who lived on the western frontier, often feared and resented the Native Americans they encountered.  American Indians seemed to be an unfamiliar, alien people who occupied land that white settlers wanted (and believed they deserved).  Some officials, such as George Washington, believed that the best way to solve this “Indian problem” was simply to “civilize” them by making them as white as possible.  Native Americans were:  Encouraged to convert to Christianity.  Learn to speak and read English.  Adopt European-style economic practices such as the individual ownership of land.  In the southeastern United States, many Choctaw, Chickasaw, Seminole, Creek and Cherokee people embraced these customs and became known as the “Five Civilized Tribes.”

More problems for Native Americans  Despite giving up parts of their culture to fit in with Europeans, it didn’t solve problems for either group.  The land the Five Civilized Tribes lived on was valuable, and it grew to be more coveted as white settlers flooded the region.  Many yearned to make their fortunes by growing cotton, and they did not care how “civilized” their native neighbors were: They wanted that land and they would do almost anything to get it.  Whites stole livestock, burned and looted houses and towns, and squatted on land that did not belong to them.  State governments joined in this effort to drive Native Americans out of the South.  Several states passed laws limiting Native American independence and rights and began encroaching on their territory.

Fighting Back falls Short  Native Americans tried to fight back and did so through the legal system.  In a few cases, such as Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1831) and Worcester v. Georgia (1832), the U.S. Supreme Court sided with Native Americans and affirmed that native nations were sovereign nations “in which the laws of Georgia [and other states] can have no force.”  Even so, the maltreatment continued.  Southern states were determined to take ownership of Indian lands and would go to great lengths to secure this territory.

The Indian Removal Act  Andrew Jackson had long been an advocate of what he called “Indian removal.”  In 1830, he signed the Indian Removal Act, which gave the federal government the power to exchange Native- held land in the cotton kingdom east of the Mississippi for land to the west,  This “Indian territory” was located in present-day Oklahoma.  The law required removal treaties to be done fairly, voluntarily and peacefully: It did not permit anyone to force Native nations into giving up their land.  However, President Jackson and his government frequently ignored this and forced Native Americans to vacate lands they had lived on for generations.

Andrew Jackson on Indian Removal  Read the speech given by Andrew Jackson and answer the questions.

Indian Removal and the Trail of Tears SWBAT: describe the impact the Trail of Tears had on Cherokee Indians. Homework: study guides are due Thursday. Do Now: thinking back to Friday, how did the gov’t first handle the “Native American problem”? How did Native Americans fight back?

Indian Removal Begins  In the winter of 1831, under threat of invasion by the U.S. Army, the Choctaw became the first nation to be expelled from its land altogether.  They made the journey to Indian territory on foot and without any food, supplies or other help from the government.  Thousands of people died along the way.  It was, one Choctaw leader told an Alabama newspaper, a “trail of tears and death.”

The Treaty of New Echota  The Cherokee would be the last group left and the people were divided on how the situation should be handled.  Some wanted to stay and fight. Others thought it was more pragmatic to agree to leave in exchange for money and other concessions.  In 1835, a few self-appointed representatives of the Cherokee nation negotiated the Treaty of New Echota, which traded all Cherokee land east of the Mississippi for $5 million, relocation assistance and compensation for lost property.  To the federal government, the treaty was a done deal, but many of the Cherokee felt betrayed.  The negotiators did not represent the majority of the people.  Nearly 16,000 Cherokees signed a petition to stop the removal, but Congress approved the treaty anyway.

The Trail of Tears Begins  3 years later, only about 2,000 Cherokees had left their Georgia homeland for Indian territory.  President Martin Van Buren sent General Winfield Scott and 7,000 soldiers to expedite the removal process.  Scott and his troops forced the Cherokee into stockades at bayonet point while whites looted their homes and belongings.  They then marched more than 16,000 Indians more than 1,200 miles to Indian territory.

Broken Promises  The federal government assured Native Americans that their new land would remain untouched forever, but as the line of white settlement pushed westward, “Indian country” shrank and shrank.  In 1907, Oklahoma became a state and Indian territory was gone for good.

The Trail of Tears- Accounts  Going around the room are 4 accounts of the Trail of Tears by survivors.  As you read, fill in the chart provided. You might not have notes for every section for every account, but you should have something written in every box by the time you’re done reading all 4 accounts.  You do not need to write in complete sentences.

Yesterday, we looked at this image the earliest artist representation of the Trail of Tears (1942). Is this an accurate representation of what occurred? What did the artist get right? What is it missing?