Trail Of Tears
I decided to write my paper on the Trail of Tears mostly because Native American history has always interested me ever since I was young, and I am also part Cherokee on my mother’s side, it is a miniscule part of my heritage, but I would not be here without that part of my heritage. I don’t know much about the removal of Indians and thought this would be the best topic for me since it’s something I’m not familiar with so, my research question is simply what was the Trail of Tears and how has it affected some of the tribes involved? I am simply looking forward to having a greater understanding of the Trail of Tears, what it was, why and when it happened, tribes involved, just the history of it all together by the end of this research paper.
The Trail of Tears was a name given to the forced relocation and movement of Native Americans. In 1830, the Congress of the United States passed the "Indian Removal Act” “which appropriated funds for relocation, by force if necessary.” (Faragher) even though many people were against the act, President Jackson was quick to sign the bill into law. The Cherokee even attempted to fight the removal laws in Supreme Court. The court ruled in favor of the Cherokee and they agreed that the removal act was invalid toward their tribe. They had to agree to a removal treaty and then the treaty would have to be ratified by the senate that spared the Cherokee some time but didn’t stop them from going after other Native Americans to forcibly take their land from them.
The first tribe that was to be removed was the Choctaw in 1831. After they were removed they became the model for all other removals that were soon to follow. After the Choctaw were removed, the Seminole were then next tribe removed in 1832, the Creek followed in 1834, then the Chickasaw in 1837, and finally the Cherokee in 1838. By 1837, 46,000 Native Americans were removed from Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, and North Carolina there for...