This is another step in my final project. Please fallow the instructional rubric attached. Also attaching previous paper. This paper is meant to be a continuence on the paper I’m attaching.
Historical Event – Trail of Tears
Trail of Tears paints a scene of forced relocation of Indian Americans from their ancestral land in East of Mississippi River to the present day Oklahoma State by the US government between 1838 and 1839. The forced migration exposed the migrants to disease, hunger, starvation with over many casualties with recent estimates approximating the number to over 5,000 (McLoughlin, 2014). The forced removal was a result of the signing of the controversial Indian Removal Act by President Andrew Jackson. While the US government encouraged the Indians to integrate with the Americans, convert into Christianity, adopt European economic practices, learn to read and write English and in some instances own African slaves, the US government eventually implemented the removal act.
The Cherokee, as the Native tribes of southern America, came to be known, faced a lot of reprisals from the US government. President Jackson referred to them as “savages, red men, and children of the forest”. The main reason for the forced removal was to eventually allocate the land to white Americans and the incoming European colonialists. The discovery of gold was also another reason to alienate the Cherokee off their land. The Cherokee struggled and fought to keep their ancestral land led by their Chief, John Ross. The removal was characterized with violence, separation of families and detention of those captured by the US government troops.
In recent history, the US government and human rights bodies have enacted policies and laws that protect minority groups against racial discrimination, unequal treatment, forced relocation, and racism. The aftermath of Trail of Tears enabled the initiation of many laws and policies to guarantee coexistence and equity in the allocation of national resources (McLoughlin, 2014). The United States has been a champion of human rights for the minority groups. Similar changes have been adopted in other countries across the world leading to better integration of cultures.
Causes: Trail of Tears occurred as a result of multiple factors. Some of this factors included failure to implement the ban of white settlers on Native American lands. When the French and Indian war ended the British tried to put an end to settlers into the Indian lands. This however was not effective as they kept coming. During the American Revolution the Cherokees supported the British which left them vulnerable after the war; many Americans considered them defeated pushing them to surrender their land.
The Louisiana Purchase further pushed for the action to take effect. Georgia gave up its land to the west with a promise that the US government would avail Cherokee land (Meyer, 2017). This did not happen as the Cherokee adopted the American culture and failed to move. Georgia was forced to take matters into their own hands by forcefully moving in and displacing the Cherokee.
In 1830 The Indian Removal Bill was signed. President Jackson himself backed it up and although some people tried to oppose it, it was passed in spring of that year. Failure to implement the ruling by the U.S Supreme Court against Jackson worsened the situation further leaving the Cherokees vulnerable. The rule was meant to stop President Jackson from giving states authority to make laws over the tribes.The division among the Cherokees; they had conflicting opinions on whether to cooperate or to resist. Major Ridge was in favor of cooperating while Ross was in favor of resistance. Major Ridge ended up signing a treaty with the U.S officials in favor of cooperating at a time when Ross was away.
Course: Andrew Jackson the then president used every possible means to get the Cherokee tribes to surrender up to fifty million land acres. He threatened the natives with possible loss of independence failure to vacate their land. Many of them gave in to the pressure and moved. This was the only way to solve the problem of new settlers needing space and the Cherokee refusing to move.
The Cherokee government was abolished as a result of the laws made by Georgia; they had been granted power to do so by President Jackson. This made it impossible for the Cherokee to make rules to defend themselves from the American Officials. President Jackson further intimidated them by withholding payments to those who had already moved with a condition that he would only resume after they all did.
Consequences: The Cherokee adopted American culture in the hope of equal opportunity. This however worked to their disadvantage as their land was seized by settlers and their property destroyed as a way of intimidation. The treaty gave them two years to vacate their native land. The Seminoles however engaged the government in guerrilla war for almost ten years in protest of the same.
An order was made to General Winfield to round up Cherokees and force them to emigrate (Meyer, 2017). Many Cherokees died in the process as a result of poor living conditions; diseases, inadequate water and food. Up to 25% of the population died hence the name ‘Trail of Tears’.
References
McLoughlin, W. (2014). After the Trail of Tears: The Cherokees’ struggle for sovereignty, 1839-1880. Chapel Hill: UNC Press Books
Meyer, J. (2017). Trail of Tears: The Rise and Fall of the Cherokee Nation.