Land, Growth, and Justice: The Removal of the Cherokees

On May 28, 1830, President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Bill, which authorized the removal of Native Americans east of the Mississippi River, most notably the Cherokees, to land in" rel="nofollow">in the West. Eventually in" rel="nofollow">in 1838 and 1839, the United States Army forcibly removed about 13,000 Cherokees from their ancestral homelands in" rel="nofollow">in the Southeast to Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma) in" rel="nofollow">in what eventually became known as the “Trail of Tears.” At least 2,500 Cherokees died in" rel="nofollow">in ramshackle stockades before the journey and hundreds more died en route to and in" rel="nofollow">in Indian Territory from either disease or violence. Historians estimate that over 4,000 Cherokees in" rel="nofollow">in total died durin" rel="nofollow">ing the Trail of Tears. Although Andrew Jackson’s strong support for Indian removal was well known before his election to the presidency in" rel="nofollow">in 1829, the Trail of Tears was not in" rel="nofollow">inevitable. In the early 1800s, white Americans debated whether or not to remove the Cherokees from the Southeast. Cherokee removal was a particularly contentious issue in" rel="nofollow">in Georgia, where most of the Cherokees lived. In addition, the Cherokees disagreed amongst themselves over whether or not to accept the Indian Removal Bill after it was signed in" rel="nofollow">in 1830. After readin" rel="nofollow">ing Chapter 7 of Discoverin" rel="nofollow">ing the American Past, answer EITHER question A) or question B): A) Should the Cherokees have been forced to move to Indian Territory? Why or why not? OR B) Should the Cherokees have accepted removal? Why or why not? Pick a side and use at least one white source (Documents 1-5) AND at least one Cherokee source (Documents 6-12) to support your argument. Provide specific in" rel="nofollow">information from the documents and be sure to cite your evidence with footnotes/endnotes. This response paper must be based on the historical evidence- not your current opin" rel="nofollow">inion of how badly Americans treated the Cherokee.