How native americans struggled to survive on the trail of tears. Picture analysis stories from the trail of tears 26 6. During the fall of 1839 the new cherokee nation reelected john ross as principle chief and ratified a constitution of the. American indian participation in removal was meant to be voluntary, and the act required the u.
The trail of tears national historic trail and the tennessee. Access article in pdf beneath the underdog race, religion, and the trail of tears patrick minges. The trail of tears national historic trail and the. Thousands died on the march, known as the trail of tears, or from subsequent hardships. The cherokees and the trail of tears elizabeth brown stephens, a cherokee who walked the trail of tears in 1838, is pictured in 1903 at age 82. The other civilized tribes also suffered on the trails of tears to the new indian territory.
Read about the trail of tears, an important moment in our nations history, and get educated about the treatment of native americans during the early years of the united states. The jewish trail of tears the evian conference of 1938 by dennis r. After jackson succeeded in pushing the indian removal act through congress in 1830, the u. Past chief of the cherokee nation 19851995 and social activist wilma mankiller remarked, we. The term is used in particular to describe the journey of the cherokee people. By march 1839 the trail of tears had concluded and the cherokee found themselves in indian territory with their government, culture, and people in shambles.
The indian removal policy of president andrew jackson was prompted by the desire of white settlers in the south to expand into lands belonging to five american indian tribes. The cherokee made their new capital at tahlequah okla. This resource includes a historical passage and ten multiple choice questions. In summer she visited around, sometimes she would stay with us till late in the fall. Native americans were living in areas that would make good farmland. Improve your students reading comprehension with readworks. Helping rewrite history for texas textbooks tim rowland. The trail of tears was taken by five different tribes from the southeast. A rush of white settlers in america brought about a cause for the horrific trail.
In the fields and homes of the colonial plantations of the united states in the late eighteenth century, african americans and native americans forged their first intimate relations in their collective oppression at the hands of the peculiar. The trail of tears as the cotton kingdom grew, southern farmers needed more land. The united states government decided that the country needed room to grow. This content has been declared free to read by the pubisher during the covid 19 pandemic. Essay on the cherokee trail of tears 1035 words bartleby. Laffer a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of master of arts department of history college of arts and sciences university of south florida major professor. Retracing slaverys trail of tears history smithsonian.
This article addresses the challenges of remembering genocide through a study of two museum exhibitions. Indian removal was an american act of opportunistic oppression and avarice. Its style of multiple dispatches is typical of newspapers of the time. The most vulnerable at all points of the removal were the elderly and children. Trail of tears reenactment building background knowledge18 5. In addition, when you click the listen button, you can hear the passage while it highlights the text. In 1838 and 1839, as part of andrew jacksons indian removal policy, the cherokee nation was forced to give up its lands east of the mississippi river and to. Estimates are that 4000 of the 15,000 relocated cherokees died on route. Arthur john langguth july 11, 1933 september 1, 2014, known as a.
As thousands of cherokees marched west along the trail of tears in 1838, 800 potawatomis, most belonging to chief menominees band, were forcibly removed from their homelands in northwestern indiana to eastern kansas. There were probably 10 million indians living here, north of present day mexico, when the white man arrived here. Retracing slaverys trail of tears americas forgotten migration the journeys of a million africanamericans from the tobacco south to the cotton south a coffle of slaves being marched. Nussbaum trail of tears reading comprehension online.
The forced relocations were carried out by government authorities following the passage of the indian removal act in 1830. Throughout the winter and spring of 2007, research and site analysis resulted in the following recommendations. Wunder this study explores the relationship between the american indian movement aim, national newspaper and television media, and the trail. However, removal was not met with gratitude or joy by the majority of american indians forced to leave their homelands. Estimates based on tribal and military records suggest that approximately 100,000 indigenous people were forced from.
Langguth, was an american author, journalist and educator, born in minneapolis, minnesota. The trail of tears describes the forced relocation of the cherokee nation in 1838 39 from its southeastern homelands to the indian territory. This was so americans would expand their territory until the mississippi river. Daily directions activity day 2 daily directions day 2 materials copies of mystery solved. Up to 8,000 dead out of 15,000 people8 the trail of tears. In 1836, the federal government drove the creeks from their land for the last time. Manifest destiny and indian removal american experience. This article originally appeared in the april 4, 1838, edition of the vermont telegraph. Complicating efforts to memorialize the trail of tears and other com pulsory. He was professor emeritus of the annenberg school for communications school of journalism at the university of southern california. Trail of tears was an important experience that forever changed the history of the cherokee nation and the united states. The jewish trail of tears the evian conference of july 1938. The trail of tears the indianremoval process continued.
The cherokee trail of tears led to effects in the nation and was a discouraging time in the history of native americans. Approximately 43 people, including at least 28 children, died along the 660mile route, which became known as the trail of. List of books and articles about trail of tears online. People just love inside out, the new pixar entertainment, which takes place mostly inside the mind of an elevenyearold girl, riley, after shes uprooted and. Trail of tears coates major reference works wiley online. Ask the class if anyone would like to share their theory of what happened and why, or what the motive behind the actions were. President andrew jackson pursued a policy of removing the cherokees and other. The trail of broken treaties, and the politics of media jason a. The trail of tears and the forced relocation of the cherokee nation. Manner of instructing the indians image, 1835 southwest view of the indian church in marshpee image, 1840 william apess image, 1831. Early in the morning the detachment started for the river, and commenced crossing about 10 oclock. How native americans struggled to survive on the trail of.
Trail brochures trail of tears national historic trail. Trail of tears national historic trail in tennessee. The trail is actually a network of routes the cherokee followed. Many of the white men pushed the government to give them the indian land, due to fertility. The trail of tears was a series of forced relocations of approximately 60,000 native americans in the united states from their ancestral homelands in the southeastern united states, to areas to the west of the mississippi river that had been designated as indian territory. But the strong spirit of the cherokee would not be quashed. The trail of tears national historic trail commemorates the removal of the cherokee and the paths. Several thousand cherokee native indians lost their lives when forced to leave their homelands through laws put in place by federal authorities. The journey was made mostly on foot, but horses, wagons and steamboats were also. What happened to the cherokee is the subject of the next selection, written with sensitivity and insight by dee brown, a prolific historian of the west and of native americans. Their leader at this time and until 1866 was chief john ross.
Some of the most vivid descriptions of the cherokee removal and trail of tears are provided in the journal kept by the rev. These voluntary treaties would offer federal land west of the mississippi river in exchange for indian. Those who survived left behind a life and culture that they had practiced for hundreds of years. If you choose only one book about the genocide and extermination of american indians, i would recommend bury my heart at wounded knee. We travelled about 6 miles and camped 2 miles from ohio river. Letter to the cherokee from major general scott letter, 1838 cherokee indian leaders.
Andrew jackson, indian removal, and the trail of tears. Trail of tears cherokee nation decides it is sick and tired of living on its temperate, ancestral homelands, where there is plenty of fish, game, fruit and fertile land. Since the manifest destiny is the idea of expansion of the nation, it shows how the trail of tears is related. Drawing almost exclusively on primary sources, this article.
Trail of tears thematic unit introduction the trail of tears is a dark chapter in our nations history, especially for a nation built on liberty, equality, and justice for all. Severe exposure, starvation and disease ravaged tribes during their forced migration to presentday oklahoma. The removal of the cherokee from their native lands has had a lasting impact on the tribe. The trail of tears was all about expanding american territory by forcing native americans to move westward. The following is an account of the trail of tears by effie oaks flemmings, a granddaughter of an native american tribe member. The official map and guide interprets the trail of tears events of 18381839, when the cherokee nation and four other southeastern tribes were removed from their homelands to indian territory oklahoma.
Langguth was the author of several dark, satirical novels, a biography of the english short story. Access thousands of highquality, free k12 articles, and create online assignments with them for your students. It then forced them to move to lands west of the mississippi river. Despite the wealth of documents court decisions, newspaper articles, and. A later article mentioned that many of the choctaws were ill and that nineteen had died since leaving rock. Open the file and fill it out by typing in the answers or print off the worksheet and fill it in by hand.
Trail of tears short documentary was produced for a middle school presentation by ron maxwell and coproduced by 12 year old rebekah aledocubano. Trail of tears is surely an enlightening work though jahoda has an annoying stylistic rhythmcadence which makes it a burdensome read a defect which i have not recognized in any other work. It is the story of tragedy and loss, but also of survival and. In this social studies worksheet that touches on civics and government, your child will read a short passage about the trail of tears and the indian removal act, then. Before a white man came on american soil, native indians lived on this land before it was known as america. The trail of tears essay by dee brown scraps from the loft. National park service these cherokeemanaged migrations were primarily land crossings, averaging 10 miles a day across various routes. It planned to move native americans from their lands to the west. Butricks diary of cherokee trek across egypt december 1838 january 1839 15th death since we crossed the tennessee river.