Trail of Tears was an important experience that forever changed the history of the Cherokee Nation and the United States. Several thousand Cherokee Native Indians lost their lives when forced to leave their homelands through laws put in place by Federal authorities. The beginning of the negotiation of several treaties to establish land boundaries and trade routes started in 1776 between the nation of Native Americans and the United States. The influx of European-Americans and other countries desiring more of the fertile southern lands for farming and homesteads continued to encroach upon the lands of the Native owners.
The beginning of the end came when a smaller representative delegation of Cherokee Natives who did not have authority were either coerced or agreed to sign a treaty in 1835. The Echota Treaty signed in Echota, GA was accepted as a legal document and ratified by the United States Congress in 1836. The…...
mlaWorks Cited
Document A .The Cherokee Constitution. 1827
Document D. Andrew Jackson's Second State of the Union Address. 1830.
Document F. "Memorial of a Delegation of Cherokee Nation of Indians" (Message to Congress From a Cherokee delegation, 1830.
Document H. "Memorial and Protest of the Cherokee Nation." 1836.
This must have made the sting of their losses in court -- and their losses despite winning in court -- even more bitter. They had learned and played by the new rules even though that system was unfair to begin with (in all fairness, the Americans should have used the Cherokee legal system to try and get what they wanted), but the system refused to give them fair access. This is more evidence that the American and Georgian governments really did not want to see the Cherokee as equal or deserving the same protections and rights under their own laws as they themselves were, and that they were willing to do whatever it took to get the land that the Cherokees had lived on for generations. The advancement of Cherokee language and culture would have been an indicator to any eye, even a heavily racist and otherwise biased one,…...
Disease ran through our people like wildfire, while others were simply to young or old to make the journey and gave up, to die alone by the side of the road. Some of the soldiers were kind to us, but others brutalized us and tormented the young women. My young daughter survived the trip, and together, we are trying to build a new life in the Indian Country. I will never forget the forced march in the coldest part of winter, when so many of my people died. The rest of you should not forget, as well.
The Trail of Tears changed my life and my people's lives forever. Thousands of us lost family and loved ones. We were forced to live on the dry plains, where food and animals were totally different from our home. Our entire way of life was gone forever, and I lost everyone but my…...
mlaReferences
Burnett, John. "John Burnett's Story of the Trail of Tears." Cherokee.org. 1890. 10 Jan. 2007. http://www.cherokee.org/home.aspx?section=culture&culture=culinfo&cat=R2OKZVC/B7c=&ID=JY45S/LKJQ0=
Duncan, Barbara R., ed. Living Stories of the Cherokee. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1998.
Cherokee Nation can be described as the government of the Cherokee people that is recognized by the federal government in the United States. Throughout its history, the Cherokee Nation has remained committed to safeguarding its people's intrinsic sovereignty while promoting and preserving the language, culture, and values of the Cherokee people. Moreover, the Cherokee Nation is increasingly committed to enhancing the quality of life for subsequent generations of Cherokee people or citizens. However, the Cherokee Nation has experienced tremendous challenges throughout its history that has generated considerable impacts on these people. One of the major events or incidents that had significant implications on Cherokee people or Cherokee Indians is the Trail of Tears. The Trail of Tears can be described as the Cherokees' march that was forced and directed by the United States Army during the removal of American Indian tribes. In essence, the Trail of Tears is the forceful…...
mlaBibliography
Conley, Robert J. Mountain Windsong: A Novel of the Trail of Tears. Oklahoma City, OK:
Kidwell, Clara Sue. "The Effects of Removal on American Indian Tribes." National Humanities
Center. accessed October 27, 2015. http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/tserve/nattrans/ntecoindian/essays/indianremoval.htm
President Andrew Jackson built his political and military career on an aggressive approach to Native Americans. His exploits began well before 1838-9, when his Indian Removal Act signaled the deplorable state of affairs in North America. Around 4000 Cherokee died during the forcible removal program dubbed aptly the "Trail of Tears," as many more Indians were displaced and deprived of rights that had been previously been guaranteed by federal law. The Indian Removal Act violated several tacit and implicit agreements between tribal governments and their American counterparts. By the time of the passing of the Indian Removal Act, five tribes in the Southeastern United States including the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole (which were technically and historically a branch of Creek) had been assimilating into the colonial European society. Yet mastery English and avid participation in the colonial economy failed to enable the Southeastern tribes to stave off the…...
mlaWorks Cited
Goldberg, Carole E. "Public Law 280: The Limits of State Jurisdiction over Reservation Indians." 22 UCLA L. Rev. 535 (1974-1975) .
Goss, George William. "The Debate Over Indian Removal in the 1830s." (2011). Graduate Masters Theses, Paper 44, 2011.
Howe, Daniel Walker. What Hath God Wrought. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007.
"Indian Removal." PBS. Retrieved online: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2959.html
Antebellum Period: Different Perspectives
Woman in a White Slaveholding Family in Virginia
My name is Matilda Baldwin originally of the Richmond Portmans that being my maiden name. I was born and raised outside of Richmond on my poppy's tobacco plantation. My husband's land is not very far away. I spend most of my summer afternoons with Mama. We sit fanning ourselves sipping mint-iced teas wondering if my baby sister will have a successful introduction into Richmond Society. Three years prior, my own debutante ball was glorious. It was where I met Robert Baldwin and many other suitors. He was clearly smitten with me from the start for the next day he asked Poppy for my hand in marriage. My father appreciates fine things in life; a good hand rolled cigar, two fingers of French Brandy and a man who knows what he wants but is not afraid of getting it. Besides Robert…...
Carlisle Indian School: founded 1879; Indian boarding school; Pennsylvania; forced assimilation of native children; abuse of children
11. Cheyenne Tribe: Plains Indians; a Sioux name for the tribe; currently comprises two tribes; ties with Arapaho; hunters; ghost dance
12. ed Cloud: leader of Ogala Lakota; fierce warrior opposed U.S.; ed Cloud's War 1866-1868; Wyoming, Montana; became leader on reservation
13. Comanche Tribe: Texas, Colorado, New Mexico, Kansas, Oklahoma; Plains Indians; hunter-gatherers; about 14,000 remain; speak Uto-Aztecan language related to Shoshone
14. Joseph Brant: Thayendanegea; Mohawk; American evolution fought with British to help Indians; became Mason; active political leader for Six Nations
15. Trail of Tears: massive relocation of Native Americans; affected Choctaw, Cherokee and other southern Indians; move to Oklahoma Indian Territory; 1830s; related to Indian emoval Act; represented treaty violations
16. Pontiac's War: 1763; Great Lakes region; Pontiac was Odawa leader; war against British after Seven Years War; British retaliated with smallpox blankets
eferences
"ed Cloud."…...
mlaReferences
"Red Cloud." PBS. Retrieved Mar 26, 2009 from http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/people/i_r/redcloud.htm
Saunders, R. (2007). "Chief Pontiac's War -- 1763." Retrieved Mar 26, 2009 from http://colonial-america.suite101.com/article.cfm/chief_pontiacs_war_1763
(Famous Cattle Trails)
The Trail in fact aided in the collection of herds of cattle from San Antonio, Helena and Texana in the south and Uvalde, and also from Comanche and Fort Worth, from further north. From Fort Worth, the Chisolm Trail goes straight northwards, and crosses the ed iver at ed iver Station, and when it reaches the Indian Nation Territory, it passes through ush Springs, Kingfisher and Hennessy on through to Kansas. In fact, what made this particular trail very important was the fact that along the route, there were present, three important cattle terminals, which were Wichita, Abilene, and Newton. Abilene was in fact one of the largest cow towns in Kansas, and it was a mere hamlet of twelve red roofed cabins in the year 1867, which was the year when Joseph Mc Coy, a cattle dealer from Chicago, happened to arrive at Kansas.
ecognizing the potential…...
mlaReferences
Abilene, History" Retrieved at Accessed 7 August, 2005http://www.kansascattletowns.com/abilene/abilene.html.
Beef Farming" Retrieved at Accessed 7 August, 2005http://www.face-online.org.uk/resources/factsheets/pdf_doc/beef.pdf.
Biodiversity and Conservation: a Hypertext Book by Peter J. Byrant" Retrieved at ???[X??H?[Y\?X?[?L??Y??[?X??\??Y
?]Y?\??B???Y??[??X?[?http://darwin.bio.uci.edu/\?\?Z[??[?K?X?
American History
Your Highnesses have an Other World here, by which our holy faith can be so greatly advanced and from which such great wealth can be drawn," wrote Christopher Columbus to the king and queen of Spain following his third voyage to the Americas in 1498 (rinkley 1). ut even after visiting the New World three times he still had no idea what he had truly started, and he certainly saw no sign that he had began a new era in history. Yet, the history of European involvement in America had begun. Over the next several decades Spanish conquistadores made more and more voyages to the New World, and the royal treasuries grew. Settlements were established and the other European powers, seeing their opportunity, soon made efforts to establish colonies of their own.
In the midst of all of this, the native inhabitants were removed from their lands and sometimes massacred…...
mlaBibliography
Brinkley, Douglas. American Heritage: History of the United States. New York: Viking, 1998.
Davis, Kenneth. American History. New York: Harper Collins, 2003.
Gutman, Bill and Anne Wertheim. The Look-It-Up Book of the 50 States. New York: Random House, 2002.
Turner, Frederick. The Frontier in American History. New York: Dover Publications, 1996.
Politics makes strange bedfellows, we are told, with the implication that those brought together by the vagaries of politics would be best kept apart. But sometimes this is not true at all. In the case of the Black Seminoles, politics brought slaves and Seminole Indians politics brought together two groups of people who would - had the history of the South been written just a little bit differently - would never have had much in common. But slaves fleeing their masters and Seminoles trying to lay claim to what was left of their traditional lands and ways found each other to be natural allies in Florida and in time in other places as well. This paper examines the origin of this particular American population, describing how the Black Seminoles changed over time and how their culture reflected both African and Seminole elements.
The Black Seminoles began in the early 1800s in…...
mlaWorks Cited
Amos, Alcione M., and Thomas Senter (eds). The Black Seminoles. History of a Freedom-Seeking People. Gainesville: UP of Florida, 1996.
Hancock, I. The Texas Seminoles and Their Language. Austin: African and Afro-American Studies and Research Center, University of Texas at Austin, 1980. http://www.nps.gov/foda/Fort_Davis_WEB_PAGE/About_the_Fort/Seminole.htm http://members.aol.com/angelaw859/movement.html
http://www.ccny.cuny.edu/library/News/seminoles2.html
Jahoda, G. The Trail of Tears. Kansas City: Wings Press, 1995.
Oklahomans Oklahoma has only been a state in the U.S. since 1907, yet Oklahomans were around well before then. Oklahoma is known as the “sooner” state because settlers had arrived in the territory before it had even been declared part of the United States. In the first half of the 19th century, the region was part of Arkansas Territory. The Native Americans were forced on the Trail of Tears and made to settle in Indian Territory in modern-day Oklahoma. In the latter half of the 19th century, cattle ranchers from Texas drove their cattle through Indian Territory to states up north and out west, paving cattle trails along the way. More and more whites began to settle in the area as a result of these cattle trails and the expansion of the railroad. Then when oil was found, Oklahoma became a major focus for the oil industry and Tulsa became known…...
He was viewing them as little children who required guidance. He tended to believe that the policy of removal had great benefits to the Indians. Majority of the white Americans were thinking that United States was not capable of extending past Mississippi. The removal was capable of saving the Indian nationals from the white's depredations Foreman 1932).
The removal could make them to govern themselves peacefully
It was assumed that the removal was to resettle the Indians in a region where they were capable of governing themselves peacefully. However, a number of Americans viewed this as being a mere excuse for a cruel and appalling course of action, and complained against the removal of the Indian nationals. Their complaints however could not prevent the southeastern populations from being removal. The first lot of people to sign the removal treaty was the Choctaws. They did this in September 1830. A number of…...
mla(415 pp., 14 ill., 6 maps, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1932.)
Gibson, Arrell M. Oklahoma: A History of Five Centuries. Norman, University of Oklahoma Press, 1981
Lindberg, Kip and Matthews, Matt. "To Play a Bold Game: The Battle of Honey Springs" North and South Magazine December 2002: pgs. 56- 61.
As is often the case, these good times could not last forever. Just like our modern day governmental debt being financed by foreign investment, Andrew Jackson and the nation faced reality when in 1837 foreign investors came to banks to collect. The speculative bubble of 1837 burst in what historians accurately termed the Panic of 1837. English and other European bankers called in the many outstanding loans the states had out as well as many private investors. Paying back these loans instantly crushed the nation's gold supplies which created a ripple affect where many local and state banks could not pay their debts, investors or the governmental reserves. These events lead to many forced bank failures and a national recession ensued.
The Missouri Compromise
In hindsight, we as a nation know now that the southern states who were in favor of slavery were prepared to defend their right to own slaves by…...
mlaWorks Cited
Brulatour, Meg. Transcendental Ideas: Reform: Social and Political Changes in the Time of Emerson and Thoreau: The 19th Century at a Glance. Ed. Meg Brulatour. VCU. Retrieved on 21 Nov. 2004, from http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/transcendentalism/ideas/reformback.html .
Lorence, James J. Enduring Voices: To 1877 the Enduring Voices, a History of the American People. 4th ed., vol. 1. ADD CITY: Houghton Mifflin Company, ADD YEAR.
Pessen, Edward. The Many-Faceted Jacksonian Era: New Interpretations. Westport, CT: Greenwood P, 1977.
Welter, Rush. The Mind of America, 1820-1860. New York: Columbia UP, 1975.
John Ross and JacksonThe two lettersone from Chief John Ross to the US governmentthe other from President Andrew Jackson to the Cherokeeshow two sides of a terrible battle in the 19th century. On the one hand is the plight of the Cherokee, who see themselves being forced off their land in the South to go to the West. On the other hand is the argument of Jackson that the Cherokee have not bought the land and have no means of securing it for themselves, that the US has set aside funds for them and promised schools for them in the Westand so they must go. Chief John Rosss letter shows how the Cherokee just wanted to have the same kind of liberty that the Americans promoted in their Declaration.[footnoteRef:2] Jacksons letter shows how there is no thought of liberty for the Cherokee but rather an intense desire to move them…...
mlaBibliographyAndrew Jackson Letter to the Cherokee.“Our Hearts are Sickened”: Letter from Chief John Ross of the Cherokee, Georgia, 1836.
Mirror of the Face of America
Robert Takaki's book A Different Mirror is a history of the people of the nation of America. The book is not, however, a history of America that a reader might expect when he or she first opens an introductory text. The subtitle of A Different Mirror is A History of Multicultural America. The book attempts to give a fuller history of America. It tries to give a fuller history of the America of nationalities such as the Native Indian peoples of America, African-Americans, Mexican-Americans, Japanese-Americans, Chinese-Americans, Irish-Americans, and of the people of the Jewish religion in America. By telling the different stories of these different groups, Robert Takaki demonstrates that more conventional American history books are incomplete. The history of A Different Mirror is not simply the history of many different American groups -- it is a more complete history of America itself. The…...
mlaWork Cited
Takaki, Robert. A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America. Boston: Back Bay Books, 1993. Reprinted 1994.
Understanding the Concept of Narrative
A narrative is a form of storytelling that unfolds a sequence of events or experiences over time. It typically involves characters, a setting, a conflict, and a resolution. Narratives can be fictional or nonfictional, and they can be expressed through various mediums such as literature, film, music, and visual arts.
Approaching Narrative Essay Topics
When developing essay topics centered around narratives, consider the following aspects:
Personal Narratives: Explore personal experiences, anecdotes, or stories that have shaped your life or perspectives.
Literary Narratives: Analyze narratives in literary works, examining character development, plot structure, and themes.
Historical Narratives: Examine historical....
The Cherokee Removal, also known as the Trail of Tears, was a dark chapter in American history that had far-reaching consequences for Native American tribes, particularly the Cherokee people. The removal of the Cherokee from their ancestral lands in the southeastern United States resulted in the loss of thousands of lives, the destruction of communities, and the displacement of a proud and resilient people. The impact of this forced relocation was profound and had lasting effects on the future of Native American tribes across the country.
One of the most significant ways in which the Cherokee Removal shaped the future....
In conclusion, the Cherokee Removal had a profound and lasting impact on the future of Native American tribes. The forced relocation to the Indian Territory significantly disrupted Cherokee society, leading to the loss of land, cultural practices, and traditional ways of life. The removal also set a precedent for the federal government's treatment of Native American tribes, establishing a pattern of coercion, assimilation, and displacement. The legacy of the Cherokee Removal continues to shape the relationship between Native American tribes and the United States, highlighting the complex and often tragic history of Native American rights and sovereignty. It serves as....
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now