The Cherokee Indians Forced Removal:
Concentration Camps and Conditions
Danielle Warren
HIST3000: The Professional Historian: Historical Study and Writing
Professor Martin Dotterweich
October 26, 2014
The early 1800s were devastating times for the American Indians. They were forcibly removed from their lands and sent across the country on a journey that became known as The Trail of Tears. Schools across America study this journey in history classes. This exodus to the lands west of the Mississippi River killed thousands of Cherokee Indians. However, they rarely teach or discuss the treatment of the Indians prior to and during this journey. Many lives were lost during their capture and imprisonment in stockades that lasted …show more content…
A minority leader of the Cherokee Indians, Major Ridge, met and signed The Treaty of New Echota. The majority of the Cherokee Indians did not approve or sign this agreement and legally challenged the treaty and the relocation of their people. They tried to settle this matter peacefully with a case called Cherokee Nation v. Georgia in 1831. John Marshall, Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, ruled that the Cherokee Nation was under United States protection, a “domestic dependent nation” meaning Georgia had no authority to relocate the Indians. In another case, Worcester v. Georgia, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the terms of the treaty and the forcible relocation of the Indians. In other words, they ruled against Georgia and in favor of the Indians. At this time, Andrew Jackson was President, and he ignored these rulings. President Jackson proceeded with the removal of the Indians by force. Howard Zinn notes in his book, History is a Weapon a People’s History of the United …show more content…
The new, white settlers wanted these lands for their own purposes. Even though, the United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Cherokee Indians, Georgia with the help of President Jackson, still rounded up the Cherokee Indians and put them in stockades or concentration camps. The soldiers treated them worse than prisoners of war. In today’s world, these soldiers and our military would be tried for war crimes because of the brutality they forced on the Cherokees. This cruelty did not end when they left the camps. Those who survived still endured fatigue, sickness, exposure and death during the long journey out west to an unknown land. Howard Zinn
Concentration Camps and Conditions
Danielle Warren
HIST3000: The Professional Historian: Historical Study and Writing
Professor Martin Dotterweich
October 26, 2014
The early 1800s were devastating times for the American Indians. They were forcibly removed from their lands and sent across the country on a journey that became known as The Trail of Tears. Schools across America study this journey in history classes. This exodus to the lands west of the Mississippi River killed thousands of Cherokee Indians. However, they rarely teach or discuss the treatment of the Indians prior to and during this journey. Many lives were lost during their capture and imprisonment in stockades that lasted …show more content…
A minority leader of the Cherokee Indians, Major Ridge, met and signed The Treaty of New Echota. The majority of the Cherokee Indians did not approve or sign this agreement and legally challenged the treaty and the relocation of their people. They tried to settle this matter peacefully with a case called Cherokee Nation v. Georgia in 1831. John Marshall, Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, ruled that the Cherokee Nation was under United States protection, a “domestic dependent nation” meaning Georgia had no authority to relocate the Indians. In another case, Worcester v. Georgia, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the terms of the treaty and the forcible relocation of the Indians. In other words, they ruled against Georgia and in favor of the Indians. At this time, Andrew Jackson was President, and he ignored these rulings. President Jackson proceeded with the removal of the Indians by force. Howard Zinn notes in his book, History is a Weapon a People’s History of the United …show more content…
The new, white settlers wanted these lands for their own purposes. Even though, the United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Cherokee Indians, Georgia with the help of President Jackson, still rounded up the Cherokee Indians and put them in stockades or concentration camps. The soldiers treated them worse than prisoners of war. In today’s world, these soldiers and our military would be tried for war crimes because of the brutality they forced on the Cherokees. This cruelty did not end when they left the camps. Those who survived still endured fatigue, sickness, exposure and death during the long journey out west to an unknown land. Howard Zinn