Trail of Tears: The Rise and Fall of the Cherokee Nation by John Ehle is all about the events and the people that were involved in the Trail of Tears. The Trail of Tears was the removal of the whole Cherokee Nation to “Indian Territory” in which they would never “bother” whites again. Ehle puts the main focus on a particular group in order to gain the readers attention more. I think that he did this on purpose, because I definitely think that I was more sympathetic towards this group of people than I would have been if it was a bunch of random people through out the novel. The novel starts out with background of the Ridge family. Ridge was a cherokee man who was born not to long before the American Revolutionary war. Ridge became a warrior …show more content…
And this is where the beginning of the trail really started. Ehle informs the readers that after a gold strike in Georgia, the Americans began to view the Cherokee, Choctaw, and Creek as simply “wasting” the land that the whites were somehow entitled to. There were many Indians in various states who “had not been given citizenship or the rights of a freeman.” (Page 149) The legislature in Georgia began passing laws against the Cherokees. These laws included forbidding council meetings and proclaiming that the Indians were simply tenants of the land. This idea spread and it became apparent that the whites were going to take over the land, it was just a matter of time. John Ross is in complete denial that the native land is going to be taken. The Cherokee nation took their case to the Supreme Court. This was something I never knew either. The Supreme Court ruled that is was legal for the Cherokees to have their own nation. But Andrew Jackson ignored this ruling all together. John Ross is still in complete denial that the land is going to be taken. The readers never really discover how he thought the Cherokees would be able to defeat the white supremacy without a fight. Although, the Treaty of 1835 that initially “seals the deal.” The readers gather that Ross believed he could ease his way out of removing his people, but Andrew Jackson had everything already set and stone. After this treaty was signed, …show more content…
In May of 1838, General Winfield Scott brought soldiers in to carry out the Indians. One of the things I learned from reading this book was the fact that the leader of the Cherokee nation didn’t have to endure the same hardships as his people. The Cherokees were forced to travel through a very long, treacherous, and time-consuming land route that resulted in hundreds of deaths while Ross and his family went a much simpler water route. The Indians were initially brought to “collection camps” near river ports and this is where the dying began. Diseases were spreading like wildfire in these camps. I also couldn’t help but think of the horrific concept of concentration camps that occurred during the Holocaust. It is said that deaths have been as high as one in every four people during the trail. There was 11,000 people who had to endure this harsh journey to the Indian Territory, and once they arrived, the deaths did not stop. The journey itself was 1200 miles long which is something that is hard for me to even comprehend. The weather conditions were brutal during this time, and the book tells us that there is an estimated 4,000 Native Americans that died during this journey. The name of the trail even describes the harshness of this endeavor. I learned that the name came from the Indians themselves, and in their language, means the “trail where we
The Long, Bitter Trail: Andrew Jackson and the Indians was written by Anthony F.C. Wallace. In his book, the main argument was how Andrew Jackson had a direct affect on the mistreatment and removal of the native Americans from their homelands to Indian Territory. It was a trail of blood, a trail of death, but ultimately it was known as the "Trail of Tears".
William Hogeland did a great job at finding hidden stories that the majority didn’t know about. I wish it was a easier read but the information was told correctly. He indeed completed his point of the book because sometimes the past is lost to us future readers and we need to know all the events our founding Americans did to give us the country we have today. Also the book show the reader where exactly the federal government started taking control and how the people tried to fight for what they thought was an unjust law.
The generalization that, “The decision of the Jackson administration to remove the Cherokee Indians to lands west of the Mississippi River in the 1830s was more a reformulation of the national policy that had been in effect since the 1790s than a change in that policy,” is valid. Ever since the American people arrived at the New World they have continually driven the Native Americans out of their native lands. Many people wanted to contribute to this removal of the Cherokees and their society. Knox proposed a “civilization” of the Indians. President Monroe continued Knox’s plan by developing ways to rid of the Indians, claiming it would be beneficial to all. Andrew Jackson ultimately fulfilled the plan. First of all, the map [Document A] indicates the relationship between time, land, and policies, which affected the Indians. The Indian Tribes have been forced to give up their land as early as the 1720s. Between the years of 1721 and 1785, the Colonial and Confederation treaties forced the Indians to give up huge portions of their land. During Washington's, Monroe's, and Jefferson's administration, more and more Indian land was being commandeered by the colonists. The Washington administration signed the Treaty of Holston and other supplements between the time periods of 1791 until 1798 that made the Native Americans give up more of their homeland land. The administrations during the 1790's to the 1830's had gradually acquired more and more land from the Cherokee Indians. Jackson followed that precedent by the acquisition of more Cherokee lands. In later years, those speaking on behalf of the United States government believed that teaching the Indians how to live a more civilized life would only benefit them. Rather than only thinking of benefiting the Indians, we were also trying to benefit ourselves. We were looking to acquire the Indians’ land. In a letter to George Washington, Knox says we should first is to destroy the Indians with an army, and the second is to make peace with them. The Indian Trade and Intercourse Act of 1793 began to put Knox’s plan into effect. The federal government’s promise of supplying the Indians with animals, agricultural tool...
“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.
In the early 1830’s, Native Americans lived on millions of acres of land in Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina, and Florida. All of this land was valuable and by the end of this decade, White Americans figured that out. A great portion of the white settlers needed to develop cotton and start their fortunes, and they would do nearly anything to do it on the Natives' property. Eventually, white Americans took the Natives land and sent them on their way to, “Indian territory” across the Mississippi River. This difficult journey was known as the Trail of Tears. Trail of Tears: The Rise and Fall of the Cherokee Nation was written by John Ehle who is an American author born in Asheville, North Carolina. Before becoming an author, Ehle was
Ellis, Jerry. Walking the Trail: One Man's Journey along the Cherokee Trail of Tears. New
Byers, Ann. The Trail of Tears: A Primary Source of History of the forced Relocation of the Cherokee Nation. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, 2003.
I walked into the room on New Year’s Day and felt a sudden twinge of fear. My eyes already hurt from the tears I had shed and those tears would not stop even then the last viewing before we had to leave. She lay quietly on the bed with her face as void of emotion as a sheet of paper without the writing. Slowly, I approached the cold lifeless form that was once my mother and gave her a goodbye kiss.
Ehle, John. Trail of Tears: The Rise and Fall of the Cherokee Nation. New York: Anchor Press, 1988.
After being seriously injured in the Battle of Chancellorsville, Tom Bridwell spent some weeks in a hospital, and then went home to recuperate. Jem liked having his father home, but it seemed that they couldn’t even sit down to dinner without the conversation turning to war. Jem’s grandfather could never understand why Jem’s dad didn’t share his beliefs. Tom suddenly has to leave for the war again. Jem is being torn between the two men he loves. He comes to believe what his father believes in and wants to go fight for Mr. Lincoln, but chores at the farm, his age, and his grandfather is what keeps him home.
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.
To many the trail of tears has no meaning or relevance in their life, but for some the Trail of Tears has great meaning since many of the native ancestors endured the hardships of this time. In the 1830s, Native Americans occupied many acres of land in Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina, and Florida. The main reason for the Trail of Tears was because the Americans wanted the Indians’ land for themselves so they could raise their cattle, and because of the good soil so they could grow and harvest crops. Their ancestors had lived on and cultivated this land for generations, and by the end of that generation very few Native Americans remained anywhere in the Southeastern United States. Many think that The Trail of Tears was just the “Five Civilized Tribes”, but there were many other smaller tribes involved too. Some tribes agreed to sign, and others were forced into it, but either way it went they all had to leave. Many Native Americans suffered from exposure, disease, and starvation on their way to their destinations, making The Trail of Tears one of the greatest hardships in Native American history.
The Trail of Tears happened between 1831-1939 in the states Virginia, West Virginia, North and South Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida (Vann). A variety of Native Americans were a part of this terrible episode in Native American history and the Cherokees were one of them. In the Trail of Tears event, many Cherokee families that consisted of men, women and children died from being exposed to traumatic events such as starvation and fevers. The federal government had ordered the Native American tribes out of their lands and into other lands (Vann). They were removed from their lands by horrible politicians and military officials. As a result, many Cherokee Indians and their families lost their lives and didn’t make it all the way to their destinations. The reason why the government ordered many of the Native American groups out of the lands they had already owned was because the settlers argued for more land and the Cherokee Indians didn’t want to give up the land they had occupied and made their whole life (Vann). This whole event called the Trail of Tears demonstrated
I found this book to be a rather interesting read. I enjoyed how Levathes researched this book and wrote it to try to explain about this specific period of time and how it is very non-fiction.
Summary: The image depicted above shows a group of cheerleaders holding up a sign with the words “Hey Indians Get Ready for A Trail of TEARS Part 2.” In the top right hand corner of the sign, a drawing of a single blue eye, with a red tear, is visible. The sign is at the forefront of the photo and in the background a marching band is visible. The name “Indians” is in reference to the opposing team. The photo shows both the cheerleaders and the marching band on a football field.