Trail of Tears

The Trail of Tears, was it unjust and inhumane? What happened to the Cherokee during that


long and treacherous journey? They were brave and listened to the government, but they recieved


unproductive land and lost their tribal land.


The white settlers were already emigrating to the Union, or America. The East coast was


burdened with new settlers and becoming vastly populated. President Andrew Jackson and the


government had to find a way to move people to the West to make room. President Andrew Jackson


passed the Indian Removal Policy in the year 1830. The Indian Removal Policy which called for the


removal of Native Americans from the Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia area, also moved their capital Echota in Tennessee to the new capital call New Echota, Georgia and then eventually to the Indian Territory. The Indian Territory was declared in the Act of Congress in 1830 with the Indian Removal Policy.


Elias Boudinot, Major Ridge, and John Ridge and there corps accepted the responsibility for the removal of one of the largest tribes in the Southeast that were the earliest to adapt to European ways.


There was a war involving the Cherokee and the Chickasaw before the Indian Removal Policy


was passed. The Cherokee were defeated by them which caused Chief Dragging Canoe to sign a treaty in 1777 to split up their tribe and have the portion of the tribe in Chattanooga, Tennessee called the Chickamauga.


Chief Doublehead of the Chickamauga, a branch of the Cherokee, signed a treaty to give away their lands. Tribal law says "Death to any Cherokee who proposed to sell or exchange tribal land." Chief Doublehead was later executed by Major Ridge.


Again there was another treaty signed in December 29, 1835 which is called The Treaty of New Echota. It was signed by a party of 500 Cherokee out of about 17,000. Between 1785 and 1902 twenty-five treaties were signed...