The Trail of Tears

The Trail of Tears was a sad time for the Cherokee Indians of Georgia. While most of them owned houses the U.S. government still drove these people out of their homes. Even those who owned plantations had to give up their land. The reasoning behind the government's decision was gold. The Cherokee's were not that different. They had a written language, and even published a newspaper. Their rights were said to be protected by treaties made with the U.S. government, but the greed of people was really shown during this time in history. The Supreme Court protected their land and possessions, but later they were ordered off their land by a removal act passed in 1830. In 1838 Cherokees were taken from their homes. They were moved to Oklahoma, and many were lost on the journey.

The Cherokees are no different from any other normal society. First of all not only did they have a written language and a newspaper, they had a written constitution. Along with that they had schools, legislative and judicial systems, and a militia. They lived in Georgia and just like everyone else they owned houses and land. They U.S. government had made treaties with the Cherokees. In those treaties their rights over the land and possessions were protected. After the discovery of gold in Georgia though, it didn't take long for the government to break their treaties.

President Andrew Jackson was the one who broke the treaties with the Cherokees. The Supreme Court protected the Cherokee's land and possessions but not for long. The President defied the court and ordered the Cherokees off their land. With the Indian Removal Act of 1830 he authorized forced removal of eastern Indians. They were forced to migrate west of the Mississippi River. In 1838 the Cherokees were abruptly taken from their homes.

Allowed to only take the clothes on their back, the 14,000 Cherokees forcibly marched to the Indian Territory. The Indian Territory was in Oklahoma. They were forced to march during the winter and were denied adequate clothing, shelter, or decent food. Some were even kept chained day and night. More than 4,000 innocent Cherokee Indians died during the marches, which covered four different routes. The routes were between Georgia and Oklahoma and the removal marches were called the Trail of Tears. Just recently some U.S. highways that are along the Trail of Tears were designated as a memorial.

It's rather sad that gold was more important