how would course of history be different if trail of tears had not happened

by Mylene Kiehn 9 min read

What happened during the trail of Tears?

How many miles is the trail of Tears?

How many died on the trail to the west?

The Trail of Tears shouldn't have ever happened, not just morally, but legally it shouldn't have happened. Constitutionally it shouldn't have happened, and everyone knew it. When the treaties of Indian Removal were passed, they took it to the Supreme court, and the Cherokee won. But Andrew Jackson, Democrat that he was, ignored the court and ...

What is the most tragic story in history?

Apr 02, 2012 · The Trail of Tears shouldn’t have happened. People at the time knew that it was wrong, that it was illegal, and that it was unconstitutional, but they did it anyway. Historian Amy Sturgis explains why the forced removal of the Cherokee Nation to “Indian Territory” (modern-day Oklahoma) was wrong on both moral and legal grounds.

How does Trail of Tears affect history?

The Trail of Tears helped the Manifest Destiny and Westward Expansion lead to the Civil War in many ways. The Trail of Tears caused more tension to rise in the United States. Native Americans became angry and lost trust in the American governmentbecause the settlers forced and physically moved them out of their homes.Dec 10, 2021

Why is the Trail of Tears important?

The Trail of Tears National Historic Trail commemorates the removal of the Cherokee and the paths that 17 Cherokee detachments followed westward. Today the trail encompasses about 2,200 miles of land and water routes, and traverses portions of nine states.Jan 27, 2021

Was the Trail of Tears a good thing?

It was morally wrong because of the loss of life. Somewhere between one-quarter and one-third of the Cherokee Nation was lost as a result of the Trail of Tears. It was morally wrong because the arguments used to justify the move were based on falsehood.Apr 2, 2012

How did the Trail of Tears affect native populations?

The terms "Trail of Tears" and "The Place Where They Cried" refer to the suffering of Native Americans affected by the Indian Removal Act. It is estimated that the five tribes lost 1 in 4 of their population to cholera, starvation, cold and exhaustion during the move west.Jun 27, 2018

How is the Trail of Tears remembered today?

A tragic event, remembered today It was decided in 1987 that this event should be remembered by the U.S. Congress. The Trail of Tears became a National Historic Trail to remember those who had lost their lives.

Why was the Trail of Tears unconstitutional?

Jackson warned the tribes that if they failed to move, they would lose their independence and fall under state laws. Jackson backed an Indian removal bill in Congress. Members of Congress like Davy Crockett argued that Jackson violated the Constitution by refusing to enforce treaties that guaranteed Indian land rights.

What was life like on the Trail of Tears?

The journey the tribes were forced to embark on was nothing short of a disaster. Poor weather, disease, disorganization and famine plagued the tribes traveling to their new land. During the winter on the trail it is said that the weather was unbearable cold, which caused many difficulties for the tribes.

How did the Trail of Tears end?

By 1836, a removal treaty, contested within the Cherokee nation, had been signed by The Ridge and westward exodus had begun. General Winfield Scott sped the removal along as well as put many Indians into stockades along the way. The Trail of Tears found its end in Oklahoma.

What was the name of the trail of tears?

This difficult and sometimes deadly journey is known as the Trail of Tears.

How many states are there on the Trail of Tears?

The Trail of Tears is over 5,043 miles long and covers nine states: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Tennessee. Today, the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail is run by the National Park Service and portions of it are accessible on foot, by horse, by bicycle or by car.

How many Native Americans lived in Georgia in the 1830s?

Indian Removal. The Trail of Tears. Can You Walk The Trail of Tears? Sources. At the beginning of the 1830s, nearly 125,000 Native Americans lived on millions of acres of land in Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina and Florida–land their ancestors had occupied and cultivated for generations. By the end of the decade, very few natives ...

What did the Indian Removal Act do?

In 1830, he signed the Indian Removal Act, which gave the federal government the power to exchange Native-held land in the cotton kingdom east of the Mississippi for land to the west, in the “Indian colonization zone” that the United States had acquired as part of the Louisiana Purchase.

What did Andrew Jackson say about the Supreme Court?

As President Andrew Jackson noted in 1832, if no one intended to enforce the Supreme Court’s rulings (which he certainly did not), then the decisions would “ [fall]…still born.”. Southern states were determined to take ownership of Indian lands and would go to great lengths to secure this territory.

What was the best way to solve the Indian problem?

Some officials in the early years of the American republic, such as President George Washington, believed that the best way to solve this “Indian problem” was simply to “civilize” the Native Americans.

What was the Indian problem?

The 'Indian Problem'. White Americans, particularly those who lived on the western frontier, often feared and resented the Native Americans they encountered: To them, American Indians seemed to be an unfamiliar, alien people who occupied land that white settlers wanted (and believed they deserved).

Why did the Cherokee move to Oklahoma?

The Cherokee were forced to move because a small, rump faction of the tribe signed the Treaty of New Echota in late 1835, a treaty that the U.S. Senate ratified in May 1836. This action – the treaty signing and its subsequent Senate approval – tore the Cherokee into two implacable factions: a minority of those who were allied with the “treaty party,” and the vast majority that bitterly opposed the treaty signing.

When did the Cherokee tribe move to Tennessee?

In May 1838, the Cherokee removal process began. U.S. Army troops, along with various state militia, moved into the tribe’s homelands and forcibly evicted more than 16,000 Cherokee Indian people from their homelands in Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina, and Georgia.

How many detachments did the Cherokee have?

Ross, honoring that pledge, orchestrated the migration of fourteen detachments, most of which traveled over existing roads, between August and December 1838. The impact of the resulting Cherokee “Trail of Tears” was devastating.

What was the trail of tears?

It was the forced migration of Native people from their homes in the Southeast into the Oklahoma Territory. Five tribes were involved in this forced relocation over the course of 7 years. 1. Thousands of People Died. The first people who were forced to move were the Choctaw tribe.

How many people died on the Trail of Tears?

1. Thousands of People Died. The first people who were forced to move were the Choctaw tribe. This happened in 1831 and more than 16,000 people were forced to endure the Trail of Tears journey. More than 6,000 people who took on that journey died. 2.

What happened to all of the land that had been taken away from the tribes?

What happened to all of the land that had been taken away from the tribes? It was given away to white settlers through a lottery. Even more tragic, the lands that were given to the 5 tribes through the Trail of Tears was again given away in the land rushes that began in 1889.

What did the Cherokees do in 1835?

3. Cherokees Named the Trail. In 1835, a forced treaty transferred all Cherokee lands to the United States in exchange for $5.6 million.

What were the 5 tribes involved in the forced relocation?

The five tribes had their own public schools, their own Constitution, and even their own justice system.

What would happen if the trail of tears did not take place?

If the trail of tears did not take place, it would have taken significantly longer for United States citizens to realize that not all different cultures are dangerous, and we wouldn't have nearly as much diversity in this country as we do today.

What happened after the Trail of Tears?

Shortly after the Trail Of Tears, people started to question authority and how the government could be greedy enough to move a civilized culture, that didn't do anything to us in the first place .

How did the Trail of Tears help the United States?

The Trail of Tears helped the United States pave the way to the future, and we are forever in its debt. However, this still does not hide the gruesome truth. United States will forever know the Trail of Tears as one of the many significant events that changed our way of life, and way of thinking forever.

What is the Trail of Tears about?

Trail of tears – Story and Facts about the forced and unjust movement of Native Americans from their ancestral homes in Southeastern United States. In the 1830s, almost 125, 000 people of Indian descent occupied millions of acres around Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina, and Florida. They were known as the Cherokees.

How many people died in the Trail of Tears?

Approximately 15,000 people were made to march for a distance of about 1,200 miles; and by the time the march ended, more than 5,000 of them had died of hunger and various forms of diseases like flu.

What happened to the Cherokees in 1835?

What happened eventually was that, in 1835, a small number of Cherokees agreed and signed another pact with the federal government. It came to be known as the Pact of New Echota.

What was the Indian problem?

The Indian problem. White Americans and prospective businessmen felt they had greater entitlement to the land on which the native Cherokees lived on. They considered the natives uncivilized and named their existence at the place the “Indian Problem”.

How much money did the Pact of New Echota give out?

This pact gave out all of their lands on the East of Mississippi for some amount of money. Historians quote the amount of money as $5 million. This was in exchange for the movement, relocation, and recompense for the land that was being given away.

What was the Georgia agreement?

The agreement contained how all of the Indian lands were to be acquired. It wasn’t going to be possible to take the land of the Cherokees anyhow because they were sovereign.

Why was it not possible to take the land of the Cherokees?

It wasn’t going to be possible to take the land of the Cherokees anyhow because they were sovereign. Their lands could only be taken by signed treaties, and so a lot of such treaties were signed, but many of those pacts were signed under so much pressure and eventually did not work.

image

The Cherokees

  • Historically, Cherokees occupied lands in several southeastern states. As European settlers arrived, Cherokees traded and intermarried with them. They began to adopt European customs and gradually turned to an agricultural economy, while being pressured to give up traditional ho…
See more on nps.gov

The Treaty of New Echota

  • Most Cherokees opposed removal. Yet a minority felt that it was futile to continue to fight. They believed that they might survive as a people only if they signed a treaty with the United States. In December 1835, the U.S. sought out this minority to effect a treaty at New Echota, Georgia. Only 300 to 500 Cherokees were there; none were elected officials of the Cherokee Nation. Twenty si…
See more on nps.gov

"Many Days Pass and People Die Very Much"

  • Most Cherokees, including Chief John Ross, did not believe that they would be forced to move. In May 1838, Federal troops and state militias began the roundup of the Cherokees into stockades. In spite of warnings to troops to treat the Cherokees kindly, the roundup proved harrowing. Families were separated-the elderly and ill forced out at gunpoint - people given only moments t…
See more on nps.gov

Epilogue

  • In August 1839, John Ross was elected Principal Chief of the reconstituted Cherokee Nation. Tahlequah, Oklahoma was its capital. It remains tribal headquarters for the Cherokee Nation today. About 1,000 Cherokees in Tennessee and North Carolina escaped the roundup. They gained recognition in 1866, establishing their tribal government in 1868 in Cherokee, North Carol…
See more on nps.gov