The Trail of Tears is one of the most memorable moments in history. In 1838 and 1839, Andrew Jackson made the Indian removal policy. The Cherokee nation was forced to give up its lands east of the Mississippi river and to migrate to an arena in present-day Oklahoma. The Indians suffered starvation, harsh weather conditions, and many kinds of sicknesses. Nearly 125,000 Native Americans lived on land in Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina, and Florida. President George Washington wanted to civilize the Indians. The Indians would have had to learn to speak the language of Americans, convert to being a Christian, learn to read English, and adopt European economic practices such as individual ownership of the land and other property. In
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Whites would steal, burn and loot houses and towns that belonged to the Indians just to push them off their land. There were many cases that were Indians against whites. In 1830, Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act, which gave the federal government the power to exchange Native-held land in the cotton kingdom. The act did not give permission to kick the Indians off their land, Jackson and the government usually ignored this and forced Native Americans off their and anyway. In the winter of 1831, the Choctaw became the first nation to be expelled from its land altogether. They made the journey to Indian territory on foot without food, supplies, or help from the government. Thousands died along the …show more content…
In 1836, the government drove the Creeks from their land for the last time. 3,500 of the 15,000 Creeks who set out for Oklahoma did not survive the trip. Some Cherokees wanted to stay and fight for their land but some agreed and left their land. The Treaty of New Echota which traded al Cherokee land east of the Mississippi for $5 million, relocation assistance and compensation for lost property. To the federal government, the treaty was a done deal. The cherokees felt betrayed. By 1838, only about 2,000 Cherokees had left their Georgia homeland for Indian territory. President Martin Van Buren sent General Winfield Scott and 7,000 soldiers into stockades at bayonet point while whites looted their homes and stole many of their belongings. They then matched the Indians more than 1,200 miles to Indian territory. Many sicknesses and starvations were epidemic along the way. More than about 5,000 Cherokee Indians died as a result of the journey. By 1840, tens of thousands of Native Americans had been driven off of their land in the southeastern states and forced to move across the Mississippi to Indian territory. The federal government promised that their new land would remain unmolested forever, but as the line of white settlement pushed westward, “Indian country” shrank and shrank. In 1907, Oklahoma became a state and Indian territory was gone for good. In 1830-the same year the Indian Removal Act was passed - gold was found on Cherokee lands.
Whites would steal, burn and loot houses and towns that belonged to the Indians just to push them off their land. There were many cases that were Indians against whites. In 1830, Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act, which gave the federal government the power to exchange Native-held land in the cotton kingdom. The act did not give permission to kick the Indians off their land, Jackson and the government usually ignored this and forced Native Americans off their and anyway. In the winter of 1831, the Choctaw became the first nation to be expelled from its land altogether. They made the journey to Indian territory on foot without food, supplies, or help from the government. Thousands died along the …show more content…
In 1836, the government drove the Creeks from their land for the last time. 3,500 of the 15,000 Creeks who set out for Oklahoma did not survive the trip. Some Cherokees wanted to stay and fight for their land but some agreed and left their land. The Treaty of New Echota which traded al Cherokee land east of the Mississippi for $5 million, relocation assistance and compensation for lost property. To the federal government, the treaty was a done deal. The cherokees felt betrayed. By 1838, only about 2,000 Cherokees had left their Georgia homeland for Indian territory. President Martin Van Buren sent General Winfield Scott and 7,000 soldiers into stockades at bayonet point while whites looted their homes and stole many of their belongings. They then matched the Indians more than 1,200 miles to Indian territory. Many sicknesses and starvations were epidemic along the way. More than about 5,000 Cherokee Indians died as a result of the journey. By 1840, tens of thousands of Native Americans had been driven off of their land in the southeastern states and forced to move across the Mississippi to Indian territory. The federal government promised that their new land would remain unmolested forever, but as the line of white settlement pushed westward, “Indian country” shrank and shrank. In 1907, Oklahoma became a state and Indian territory was gone for good. In 1830-the same year the Indian Removal Act was passed - gold was found on Cherokee lands.