Cherokee Leaders Contributing to Removal

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The Cherokee was an Indian tribe that is believed to have lived on the land ever since there was life. No one truly knows if this is true or not, but for several years the Cherokee had survived by hunting and farming. The United States government considered the Cherokee Indians uncivilized. President Washington decided to reach out to the Cherokee tribe in efforts to civilize them and help them to survive. Washington suggested different farming methods that would help the Cherokee to relish in trade. It seemed to the Cherokee that the United States were there to help Cherokee survive. Sadly, the Cherokee were wrong with the state of Georgia, Andrew Jackson, and the trail of tears it is visible that the United States did not have intentions to help, but only to control and eventually remove the Cherokee. The Cherokee leaders deciding to embrace civilization would only harm the tribe over time.
Georgia was the first state to develop a strong dislike for the Cherokee Indians. In 1802, Georgia began its campaign for Indian removal. The state was forced to give up some of its land including parts of Alabama and Mississippi and was given money to compensate for the land. The United States government promised to remove all Indians off the new boundaries as soon as it could be done peacefully and reasonably (Green and Perdue 71). The state of Georgia became frustrated as several years passed and the Indians still occupied land that belonged to the state. The state of Georgia had complete control over all the land and the people living within the land, including the Cherokee Indians (Green and Perdue 74). Georgia decided that if the United States was not going to uphold their promises to remove the Indians, then Georgia would. Georgia ga...

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...rokee being forced off of their land. It started with Georgia and the Cherokee land being given to what they considered intruders in the lottery. After Georgia, Andrew Jackson was elected President, who was known for his hatred for the Indians as a whole. President Jackson created the Indian Removal Act which stated that all Indians will have their land taken and be forced to move west of the Mississippi river. The Indian Removal Act led to the Trail of Tears. The Trail of Tears was the long and dangerous road that the Cherokee were forced to travel on. The Cherokee leader embracing civilization led to many events that did not help the tribe and resulted in several dead, as well as being removed from their homes.

Works Cited

Green, Michael, and Theda Perdue. The Cherokee Removal A Brief History with Documents. 2nd Edition. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2005. Print

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