Trail of Tears And the Indian Removal Act

Indian Removal Act -The 1830 law authorized the removal of all Native tribes who lived east of the Mississippi River. -Tribes were removed so American Farmers could settle the territory. -This law was created and pushed through Congress by President Andrew Jackson.

Map and Tribes These tribes were moved to the Indian Territory in what is now the state of Oklahoma. Cherokee Removal 1838 Creek Removal 1836 Chickasaw Removal 1832 Choctaw Removal 1831 Seminole Removal 1835

Resistance The Cherokee tried to take up the culture of the “White Man”. A Cherokee leader (Sequoya) created an alphabet and writing system for the Cherokee language. The Cherokee government even created a Constitution for their country. Finally, the Cherokee sued the State of Georgia in the Supreme Court. The Cherokee said they were an independent nation and the State of Georgia had no power. In 1832, The Supreme Court led by Chief Justice John Marshall agreed with the Cherokee. Chief Justice Marshall stated that the Cherokee should be allowed to stay on their lands and Georgia had no power. None of this helped the Cherokee, the State of Georgia and even President Andrew Jackson ignored the ruling. The Army arrested and forced the remaining Cherokee to leave. Passive resistance: Using courts:

Resistance Continues Using Violence: Three major wars were fought between Southeastern Indians and State and Federal troops:  Creek War. Creeks ceded 23 million acres (2/3 of tribal lands) to government.  First Seminole War. Spain left west Florida and handed a fort over to the Seminoles and run-away slaves. Andrew Jackson ordered the Army and Navy to destroy the fort because it stood in the way of commerce (trade) with the gulf ports.  Second Seminole War. Osceola, the Seminole chief, and others refused to obey an 1832 treaty that would force the Seminoles to join their Creek cousins, some of whom were already living west of the Mississippi. The war was a costly one for the US government. The army lost 1,500 soldiers--1 soldier for every 2 Seminoles sent west; The Federal government spent $20 million. Eventually the army gave up. Three thousand Seminoles went west, but significant numbers remained in the Everglades, where their descendants are found today.

LEADERSLEADERS Sequoyah – Inventor of the Cherokee written language, the so-called talking leaves. Andrew Jackson – President of the United States Jackson had little sympathy for the Natives. He was only interested in furthering the economic and land expansion of the United States. He pushed through Congress the Indian Removal Act and then ignored the Supreme Court to allow Georgia to force the removal of the Cherokee in John Ross – He was voted to be the Principal Chief of the Cherokee tribe before the removal. He led the fight against removal and then led his people to their exile in the Indian Territory.

Conditions on the trail 18,000 Cherokee were removed from Georgia, Alabama, and North Carolina. They began rounding up Cherokees in Georgia on May 26, 1838; most were removed at gunpoint from their homes by men whose language they did not understand. Over three weeks, 18,000 Cherokee were gathered together in camps, often with only the clothes on their backs. The Cherokee were sent to the Indian Territory, mostly traveling on foot or by some combination of horse, wagon, and boat, a distance of around 1,200 miles along one of the three routes. Of the 18,000 removed up to 4,000 Cherokee died on the trail. Hypothermia (freezing), Exhaustion, and Lack of Food caused many deaths. Dysentery and other illnesses also led to many deaths.

Indian Territory/Oklahoma -Shortly after Congress passed the Indian Removal Act, they set aside land in what is now Oklahoma. This was to be the new Indian homeland Called the Indian Territory. -All tribes removed from the east side of the Mississippi were to be moved and given land here. From this to this

Response to the Removal Private John G. Burnett, Captain Abraham McClellan’s Company, 2nd Regiment, 2nd Brigade, Mounted Infantry, Cherokee Indian Removal, “... Murder is murder, and somebody must answer; somebody must explain the streams of blood that flowed in the Indian country in the summer of Somebody must explain the four thousand silent graves that mark the trail of the Cherokees to their exile. I wish I could forget it all, but the picture of six hundred and forty-five wagons lumbering over frozen ground with their cargo of suffering humanity still lingers in my memory.”

For Homework you need to summarize the Indian Removal and Trail of Tears experience. You need to imagine that you were a Cherokee on the Trail of Tears. What did you do? How did you feel? What did you think? Then on a sheet of computer paper, you need to create either: 1) 10 line poem OR 2) Colored picture Either should tell or show what was experienced on the trip. Be Creative, Be Imaginative, Be Neat, Be Colorful

Grading Rubric CATEGORYLevel 4 AdvancedLevel 3 ProficientLevel 2 BasicLevel 1 Below Basic Poem or Picture shows Creativity you put yourself in the Place of the Cherokee In-depth inferences You take it above and add extra ideas. Only a Little Higher Level Thinking. No major mistakes or omissions, Very Basic No major complex ideas added. No HLT With help, a partial understanding of some of the simpler details. Trail of Tears Picture / Poem Major parts of the Picture or Poem are included. In-depth inferences Included All Information Only a Little Higher Level Thinking. Picture or Poem are more than the minimum. Very Basic No major complex ideas added. No HLT With help, a partial understanding of some of the simpler details. Ideas that Need to be Included Cherokee & United States Trail of TearsForced RemovalFeelings of Cherokee Major parts of the Picture or Poem are included. In-depth inferences Showed extra elements and exceptional originality which show in -depth understanding. Only a Little Higher Level Thinking. Picture or Poem are more than the minimum. All but 1 of the required elements are included on the Poster. Very Little HLT The Picture or Poem is distractingly messy or very poorly designed. No HLT shown