Andrew Jackson Inhumanity To Man Essay

“My friends, circumstances render it impossible that you can flourish in the midst of a civilized community. You have but one remedy within your reach, and that is to remove to the West. And the sooner you do this, the sooner you will commence your career of improvement and prosperity (9) .” This quote by Andrew Jackson, the seventh president of the United States, shows how he misled the Native Americans prior to the Trail of Tears. The Trail of Tears was one of the United States’ worst examples of man's inhumanity to man. Over one hundred thousand Native Americans were taken from their homes, and over twenty thousand died, but none suffered as much as the Cherokees (2). The Cherokees were discriminated against by the U.S. government, which

Andrew Jackson was elected the president of the United States in 1828 (8). Although he pretended to be a friend of the Cherokees at the time, after he was elected, he sided with the people of Georgia. He was quoted as telling the Georgia officials, “Build a fire under them, when it gets hot enough, they'll move (8).” Chief John Ross kept pleading with the United States Congress to recognize the treaties of the Cherokee people. In 1832, the United States Supreme Court, led by John Marshall, ruled on the side of the Cherokees. When Jackson heard about the ruling, he said,” John Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce it (8).” The citizens of Georgia took this as a sign that they could invade Cherokee property and steal their resources (8). While Chief Ross continued to fight for their land, another group of Cherokees, led by Major Ridge, decided it would be better to sign a new treaty. On December 29, 1835, a committee of twenty Cherokees, who were not given permission by Cherokee Nation, signed an agreement to sell all Cherokee land for five million dollars. This act was called the Treaty of New Echota. Although this transaction was illegal, the United States Government overlooked the law in order to acquire the land. The most prominent Cherokee people who signed the treaty were Major Ridge, John Ridge, Elias Boudinot, and

The military only escorted the first four of the seventeen detachments. Since the people would not cooperate with the soldiers, Chief John Ross asked to take charge of the removal. The first three detachments left in June of 1838. The first detachment was lucky because it only took seventeen days and there were no deaths. The next two detachments took much longer, and there were over two hundred deaths. These detachments were stranded at river crossings due to low water, and many died due to weather conditions and illness. The fourth detachment left on October 11, 1838, and arrived after eighty- nine days on January 2, 1839. Of the remaining thirteen detachments, twelve traveled over land, and one went by water (7). The Cherokees were forced to travel over eight hundred miles to Indian Territory. Many suffered from exposure, fever, cholera, and dysentery. Many mothers died giving birth, along with their children. The older members of the Cherokee Nation simply gave up the will to live. By the end of the Trail of Tears, four thousand Cherokees, one fifth of the Nation, had died