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American policy with Native Americans
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Native Americans and the Trail of Tears
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Unconcerned about the legitimacy of their actions, European colonisers took lands unjustifiably from indigenous people and put original inhabitants who had lived on the land for centuries in misery. The United States also shared similarities in dealing with native people like its distant friends in Europe. Besides the cession of vast lands, the federal government of the United States showed no pity, nor repentance for the poor Cherokee people. Theda Perdue, the author of “Cherokee Women and Trail of Tears,” unfolds the scroll of history of Cherokee nation’s resistance against the United States by analyzing the character of women in the society, criticizes that American government traumatized Cherokee nation and devastated the social order of …show more content…
Perdue stated that prior to America 's involvement in Cherokee society, Cherokee women had a voice in Cherokee government and they were respected. She mentioned that it was a Cherokee woman who wrote to Benjamin Franklin in contemplation of negotiating peace with the new American nations. This anecdote indicated traditional Cherokee women’s political status in Cherokee society and their involvement in deciding major decisions of the nation, and women were the leading roles in resisting American’s potential invasion. Perdue went on explaining that the political influence come from “their maternal biological role in procreation and their maternal role in Cherokee society, …” in which women were the major economic sources that support families and they were women who represented their kins in negotiating with American …show more content…
However, when Cherokee men come to power in the society, stemming from trading with Americans, Cherokee women’s social status plummeted. Women gradually lost their privilege to participate in political activities, with the loss of economic dominance. However, Cherokee women still considered the participation in resisting cession of lands as their obligations. In 1817, the Cherokee women sent a message to the National Council to recognize their lands, “which God gave us [the Cherokee people] to inhabit and raise provisions.” Cherokee women appealed to authority to argue that the Cherokee people should not give up on their lands that they received from God. The next year, Cherokee women once again petitioned to National Council in order to withstand the cession of their lands. Cherokee women appealed to tradition, and stated that “We therefore humbly petition our beloved children, the headmen and warriors, to hold out to the last in support of our common rights, as the Cherokee nation have been the first settlers on this land.” Cherokee women not only argued that the Cherokee people were the only lawful residents on these lands, but they also recognized headmen and warriors as their “beloved children” to evoke the Cherokee’s
The United States may be glamor of hope and prosperity for many nations still undergoing democratic maturity and development; however, her story is one that combines deadly struggles and an array of governmental decisions that defined the path to freedom of now the world’s most powerful country. One of the ways to understand the history of the United States is through revisiting the Trail of Tears, which is documented in the film. We Shall Remain: Trail of Tears. Notably, the film documentary with five parts in total highlighting the history of Native Americans from the 17th
There have been many influential cultural leaders throughout the history of the world. These leaders worked to change and improve society for those without a voice of their own. Minorities often suffer miserable conditions until someone takes a stand to demand change. In the United States, Native Americans are treated as second-class citizens who don’t have the equality that all persons in this country should have. Many well known Native Americans have worked to achieve better education, healthcare, housing, and jobs for their people. One of the few women in this group, Wilma Mankiller, made many important accomplishments in modern Native American society. As a member of the Cherokee tribe, Mankiller overcame many obstacles to become the first female Deputy Chief, as well as the first female Chief of the Cherokee Nation. Wilma Mankiller has become one of the most important leaders in Native American history as well as an influential advocate for women's rights.
The tragedy of the Cherokee nation has haunted the legacy of Andrew Jackson"'"s Presidency. The events that transpired after the implementation of his Indian policy are indeed heinous and continually pose questions of morality for all generations. Ancient Native American tribes were forced from their ancestral homes in an effort to increase the aggressive expansion of white settlers during the early years of the United States. The most notable removal came after the Indian Removal Act of 1830. The Cherokee, whose journey was known as the '"'Trail of Tears'"', and the four other civilized tribes, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek and Seminole, were forced to emigrate to lands west of the Mississippi River, to what is now day Oklahoma, against their will. During the journey westward, over 60,000 Indians were forced from their homelands. Approximately 4000 Cherokee Indians perished during the journey due to famine, disease, and negligence. The Cherokees to traveled a vast distance under force during the arduous winter of 1838-1839.# This is one of the saddest events in American history, yet we must not forget this tragedy.
Democracy can be traced back before the coming of Christ. Throughout Greece during the sixth century democracy was in its earliest stages and as the millenniums would pass the power of government by the people would show distinct alterations. This is evident when analyzing The Cherokee Nation and the Trail of Tears by Theda Perdue and Michael D. Green. These authors illustrate how the U.S government adjusts policies from that of assimilating the Native American Indians to that of removing them from their homelands and forcibly causing the Cherokee nation to relocate themselves west of the Mississippi. In further depth Perdue and Green portray though vivid description how the government would show disloyalty and how that caused division between the tribal members of the Cherokee people. This endeavor of travel and animosity of the Indians would become known as the Trail of Tears.
Talking Back to Civilization , edited by Frederick E. Hoxie, is a compilation of excerpts from speeches, articles, and texts written by various American Indian authors and scholars from the 1890s to the 1920s. As a whole, the pieces provide a rough testimony of the American Indian during a period when conflict over land and resources, cultural stereotypes, and national policies caused tensions between Native American Indians and Euro-American reformers. This paper will attempt to sum up the plight of the American Indian during this period in American history.
Lakota Woman Essay In Lakota Woman, Mary Crow Dog argues that in the 1970’s, the American Indian Movement used protests and militancy to improve their visibility in mainstream Anglo American society in an effort to secure sovereignty for all "full blood" American Indians in spite of generational gender, power, and financial conflicts on the reservations. When reading this book, one can see that this is indeed the case. The struggles these people underwent in their daily lives on the reservation eventually became too much, and the American Indian Movement was born. AIM, as we will see through several examples, made their case known to the people of the United States, and militancy ultimately became necessary in order to do so.
“Quantie’s weak body shuddered from a blast of cold wind. Still, the proud wife of the Cherokee chief John Ross wrapped a woolen blanket around her shoulders and grabbed the reins.” Leading the final group of Cherokee Indians from their home lands, Chief John Ross thought of an old story that was told by the chiefs before him, of a place where the earth and sky met in the west, this was the place where death awaits. He could not help but fear that this place of death was where his beloved people were being taken after years of persecution and injustice at the hands of white Americans, the proud Indian people were being forced to vacate their lands, leaving behind their homes, businesses and almost everything they owned while traveling to an unknown place and an uncertain future. The Cherokee Indians suffered terrible indignities, sickness and death while being removed to the Indian territories west of the Mississippi, even though they maintained their culture and traditions, rebuilt their numbers and improved their living conditions by developing their own government, economy and social structure, they were never able to return to their previous greatness or escape the injustices of the American people.
The United States government's relationship with the Native American population has been a rocky one for over 250 years. One instance of this relationship would be what is infamously known as, the Trail of Tears, a phrase describing a journey in which the Native Americans took after giving up their land from forced removal. As a part of then-President Andrew Jackson’s Indian Removal Act, this policy has been put into place to control the natives that were attempting to reside peacefully in their stolen homeland. In the viewpoint of the Choctaw and Cherokee natives, removal had almost ultimately altered the culture and the traditional lifestyle of these people.
The Cherokee Indians, the most cooperative and accommodating to the political institutions of the united states, suffered the worst fate of all Native Americans when voluntarily or forcibly moved west. In 1827 the Cherokees attempted to claim themselves as an independent nation within the state of Georgia. When the legislature of the state extended jurisdiction over this ‘nation,’ the Cherokees sought legal actions, not subject to Georgia laws and petitioned the United States Supreme Court. The case became known as Cherokee Nation vs. Georgia in 1831. Supreme Court Justice John Marshall denied their claim as a republic within Georgia, he then deemed the Cherokee as a ‘domestic dependent nation’. One year later through the case of Worcester vs. Georgia, the Cherokee’s were granted federal protection from the molestation by the state of Georgia. Through the Indian Removal act in 1830 President Andrew Jackson appropriated planning and funding for the removal of Native Americans, Marshall’s rulings delayed this for the Cherokee Nation, and infuriated President Jackson. Marshall’s decision had little effect on Jackson and ignoring this action the president was anxious to see him enforce it.
What makes A Century of Dishonor an important book is that it chronicled the government of the United State's continual mistreatment of the American Indian. In it Jackson exposed the government by documenting how treaties were made and broken, how the Indians were robbed out of their lands, and how bad reservation life was for them. Up until 1881, when Jackson’s book was published, the government was not held accountable for its actions but Jackson was able to blame the government for this maltreatment and criticize its behavior publicly. It is also significant because Helen Hunt Jackson didn’t stop only at revealing government actions but through it advocated respect for American Indians and proposed ways to change the government and its ways and views about Native Americans.
The Chickasaw people made of decently well compared to some of the other Native American tribes that were moved to the West. They had foresight into what was going to take place and they were able to negotiate the sale of their land off for decent sums of money and they actually could afford to pay for the removal to areas west of the Mississippi. Even with saying that many Chickasaw Natives died on the perilous exodus that was their Trail of Tears. The Chickasaw quickly ran into troubles and death as their journey progressed as even having sums of money cannot protect you from the hardships of the land and travel. They did however control when they departed for the areas in the West though due to their possession of money. They chose
The movement westward during the late 1800’s created new tensions among already strained relations with current Native American inhabitants. Their lands, which were guaranteed to them via treaty with the United States, were now beginning to be intruded upon by the massive influx of people migrating from the east. This intrusion was not taken too kindly, as Native American lands had already been significantly reduced due to previous westward conquest. Growing resentment for the federal government’s Reservation movement could be felt among the native population. One Kiowa chief’s thoughts on this matter summarize the general feeling of the native populace. “All the land south of the Arkansas belongs to the Kiowas and Comanches, and I don’t want to give away any of it” (Edwards, 203). His words, “I don’t want to give away any of it”, seemed to a mantra among the Native Americans, and this thought would resound among them as the mounting tensions reached breaking point.
In the essay, “The Trail of Tears” by author Dee Brown explains that the Cherokees isn’t Native Americans that evaporate effectively from their tribal land, but the enormous measure of sympathy supported on their side that was abnormal. The Cherokees process towards culture also the treachery of both states and incorporated governments of the declaration and promises that contrived to the Cherokee nation. Dee Brown wraps up that the Cherokees had lost Kentucky and Tennessee, but a man who once consider their buddy named Andrew Jackson had begged the Cherokees to move to Mississippi but the bad part is the Indians and white settlers never get along together even if the government wanted to take care of them from harassment it shall be incapable to do that. The Cherokee families moved to the West, but the tribes were together and denied to give up more land but Jackson was running for President if the Georgians elects him as President he agreed that he should give his own support to open up the Cherokee lands for establishment.
Natives were forcefully removed from their land in the 1800’s by America. In the 1820’s and 30’s Georgia issued a campaign to remove the Cherokees from their land. The Cherokee Indians were one of the largest tribes in America at the time. Originally the Cherokee’s were settled near the great lakes, but overtime they moved to the eastern portion of North America. After being threatened by American expansion, Cherokee leaders re-organized their government and adopted a constitution written by a convention, led by Chief John Ross (Cherokee Removal). In 1828 gold was discovered in their land. This made the Cherokee’s land even more desirable. During the spring and winter of 1838- 1839, 20,000 Cherokees were removed and began their journey to Oklahoma. Even if natives wished to assimilate into America, by law they were neither citizens nor could they hold property in the state they were in. Principal Chief, John Ross and Major Ridge were leaders of the Cherokee Nation. The Eastern band of Cherokee Indians lost many due to smallpox. It was a year later that a Treaty was signed for cession of Cherokee land in Texas. A small number of Cherokee Indians assimilated into Florida, in o...
These children, the offspring of Caucasian males and Cherokee females, would come to dominate the political, social, and economic sectors of the Cherokee Nation. They would become the biggest factor in the push for and defense of slavery within the Cherokee Nation as they no longer saw use of the older more traditional values. Values such as matriarchy, the role of women with regards to slavery, and land ownership. Though beliefs of benevolent masters persist to this day, there is little in the way of evidence to support it. Our understanding of this massive desire to delegitimize ancestral heritage is crucial as it helped move away the oversimplified European explanation. We were now accepting of a much more nuanced idea of cultural dissemination and