Document 5: Textbook Excerpt - The American Journey (Modified)
The Cherokee Nation
The Cherokee had held their land long before European settlers arrived. Through treaties with the United States government, the Cherokee became a sovereign (independent) nation within Georgia. By the early 1800s the Cherokee had their own schools, their own newspaper, and their own written constitution. The invention of a Cherokee alphabet enabled many of the Cherokee to read and write in their own language. The Cherokee farmed some of Georgia’s richest land, and in 1829 gold was discovered there. Settlers, miners, and land speculators began trespassing on Cherokee territory in pursuit of riches.
The Cherokee Nation, however, refused to give up its land. In treaties of the 1790s, the federal government had recognized the Cherokee people in the state of Georgia as a separate nation with their own laws. Georgia, however, refused to recognize Cherokee laws. The Cherokee sued the state government and eventually took their case to the Supreme Court. In Worcester v. Georgia (1832), Chief Justice John Marshall ruled that Georgia had no right to interfere with the Cherokee. Only the federal government had authority over matters involving the Cherokee.
President Jackson had supported Georgia’s efforts to remove the Cherokee, and disagreed with the Supreme Court. He vowed to ignore the Supreme Court’s ruling. “John Marshall has made his decision,” Jackson reportedly said. “Now let him enforce it.”
The Trail of Tears
In 1835 the federal government persuaded a few Cherokee to sign a treaty giving up their people’s land. Yet most of the 17,000 Cherokee refused to honor the treaty. They wrote a protest letter to the government and people of the United States.
The Cherokee plea for understanding, however, did not soften the resolve of President Jackson or the white settlers of the area. In 1838 General Winfield Scott and an army of 7,000 federal troops came to remove the Cherokee from their homes and lead them west. Scott threatened to use force if the Cherokee did not leave. He told them he had positioned troops all around the country so that resistance and escape were both hopeless.
The Cherokee knew that fighting would only lead to their destruction. Filled with sadness and anger, their leaders gave in, and the long march to the West began. One man in Kentucky wrote of seeing hundreds of Cherokee marching by: “Even the aged . . . nearly ready to drop in the grave, were traveling with heavy burdens attached to their backs, sometimes on frozen ground and sometimes on muddy streets, with no covering for their feet.”
Brutal weather along the way claimed thousands of Cherokee lives. Their forced journey west became known to the Cherokee people as the Trail Where They Cried. Historians call it the Trail of Tears.
Source: Glencoe, The American Journey. 2004.
Guiding Questions - Answer these questions in your graphic organizer.
1. According to the textbook, why did white settlers and miners want Cherokee land? (Paragraph 1)
2. What happened on the Trail of Tears? (Paragraphs 4-7)
3. What do the events surrounding the Trail of Tears suggest about the U.S. Government’s attitude towards the Native Americans?
4. According to the information in THIS DOCUMENT ONLY, why did the U.S. Government pass the Indian Removal Act?
5. Find at least one quote from the document that supports your answer to Question 4.
The Cherokee had held their land long before European settlers arrived. Through treaties with the United States government, the Cherokee became a sovereign (independent) nation within Georgia. By the early 1800s the Cherokee had their own schools, their own newspaper, and their own written constitution. The invention of a Cherokee alphabet enabled many of the Cherokee to read and write in their own language. The Cherokee farmed some of Georgia’s richest land, and in 1829 gold was discovered there. Settlers, miners, and land speculators began trespassing on Cherokee territory in pursuit of riches.
The Cherokee Nation, however, refused to give up its land. In treaties of the 1790s, the federal government had recognized the Cherokee people in the state of Georgia as a separate nation with their own laws. Georgia, however, refused to recognize Cherokee laws. The Cherokee sued the state government and eventually took their case to the Supreme Court. In Worcester v. Georgia (1832), Chief Justice John Marshall ruled that Georgia had no right to interfere with the Cherokee. Only the federal government had authority over matters involving the Cherokee.
President Jackson had supported Georgia’s efforts to remove the Cherokee, and disagreed with the Supreme Court. He vowed to ignore the Supreme Court’s ruling. “John Marshall has made his decision,” Jackson reportedly said. “Now let him enforce it.”
The Trail of Tears
In 1835 the federal government persuaded a few Cherokee to sign a treaty giving up their people’s land. Yet most of the 17,000 Cherokee refused to honor the treaty. They wrote a protest letter to the government and people of the United States.
The Cherokee plea for understanding, however, did not soften the resolve of President Jackson or the white settlers of the area. In 1838 General Winfield Scott and an army of 7,000 federal troops came to remove the Cherokee from their homes and lead them west. Scott threatened to use force if the Cherokee did not leave. He told them he had positioned troops all around the country so that resistance and escape were both hopeless.
The Cherokee knew that fighting would only lead to their destruction. Filled with sadness and anger, their leaders gave in, and the long march to the West began. One man in Kentucky wrote of seeing hundreds of Cherokee marching by: “Even the aged . . . nearly ready to drop in the grave, were traveling with heavy burdens attached to their backs, sometimes on frozen ground and sometimes on muddy streets, with no covering for their feet.”
Brutal weather along the way claimed thousands of Cherokee lives. Their forced journey west became known to the Cherokee people as the Trail Where They Cried. Historians call it the Trail of Tears.
Source: Glencoe, The American Journey. 2004.
Guiding Questions - Answer these questions in your graphic organizer.
1. According to the textbook, why did white settlers and miners want Cherokee land? (Paragraph 1)
2. What happened on the Trail of Tears? (Paragraphs 4-7)
3. What do the events surrounding the Trail of Tears suggest about the U.S. Government’s attitude towards the Native Americans?
4. According to the information in THIS DOCUMENT ONLY, why did the U.S. Government pass the Indian Removal Act?
5. Find at least one quote from the document that supports your answer to Question 4.
Next Step - Step 2: Outline