The Trail of Tears occurred in 1830 when President Andrew Jackson passed the Indian Removal Act of 1830. The Indian tribes were forced off their land and moved to Oklahoma. Thousands of Native Americans died on this trip. The white man hated the Indians; therefore, they forced the Native Americans to move. However, to understand the full extent of this hatred we need to look back at when the colonist first came in 1607 to establish Jamestown, Virginia was settled. We also need to look at the differences between the cultures that lead to misunderstandings. The Indians practiced rituals that were strange to the colonist. They had a ritual for most occasions for example a death or a marriage. The colonist did not fully understand why the natives
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They met a group of Native Americans called the Powhatan tribe. At first both the colonist and the Powhatans made equal attempts to civilize the other. Both groups of people tried to persuade the other to adopt the other’s way of life.1 Each group also had what the other wanted. The Powhatans wanted things like copper and glass beard, but also guns and swords; meanwhile, the English wanted food, especially in the first few years of being in America. They would make deals for what they wanted, but in the winter of 1607-08 John Smith was captured.2 Rituals were conducted to make the English part of the Powhatan culture and Smith departed in 1609.3 However, relations with the Indians was bad all the time since around this sometime the Plymouth colony was being established with the help of the Wampanoag Indians. They showed them how to cultivate the land for planting. The Indians also showed them how to hunt and fish so that the colonist could have meat in their diets. Nevertheless, the peace would not last due to so many new immigrants coming to America. The prospering colonies needed more land for the people, so they started expanding into Indian territory. They expanded right into the very heart of the Indians’ land. This caused violence to break out among the two groups. The colonist had bright pigs and cattle over with them. The pigs started to destroy the Indian’s clam reserves and the colonist would mow the grass down to feed their livestock. The environment also started to change in a way that was unsuitable for the Indian’s way of life.4 This is one of the problems that lead to tensions being high between the Native Americans and the English. Fighting soon started with the Powhatan people and would last until 1614 when Powhatan’s daughter, Pocahontas, married an Englishman, John Rolfe. By 1620 the English had expanded far into the Indians territory and had killed
They met a group of Native Americans called the Powhatan tribe. At first both the colonist and the Powhatans made equal attempts to civilize the other. Both groups of people tried to persuade the other to adopt the other’s way of life.1 Each group also had what the other wanted. The Powhatans wanted things like copper and glass beard, but also guns and swords; meanwhile, the English wanted food, especially in the first few years of being in America. They would make deals for what they wanted, but in the winter of 1607-08 John Smith was captured.2 Rituals were conducted to make the English part of the Powhatan culture and Smith departed in 1609.3 However, relations with the Indians was bad all the time since around this sometime the Plymouth colony was being established with the help of the Wampanoag Indians. They showed them how to cultivate the land for planting. The Indians also showed them how to hunt and fish so that the colonist could have meat in their diets. Nevertheless, the peace would not last due to so many new immigrants coming to America. The prospering colonies needed more land for the people, so they started expanding into Indian territory. They expanded right into the very heart of the Indians’ land. This caused violence to break out among the two groups. The colonist had bright pigs and cattle over with them. The pigs started to destroy the Indian’s clam reserves and the colonist would mow the grass down to feed their livestock. The environment also started to change in a way that was unsuitable for the Indian’s way of life.4 This is one of the problems that lead to tensions being high between the Native Americans and the English. Fighting soon started with the Powhatan people and would last until 1614 when Powhatan’s daughter, Pocahontas, married an Englishman, John Rolfe. By 1620 the English had expanded far into the Indians territory and had killed