Trail of Tears

1. Trail of Tears PowerPoint by: www.pbp.sevier.org/Trail-Tears.ppt

2. Quote 1 • “They made us many promises, more than I can remember, but they kept only one; they promised to take our land, and they did” • Red Cloud, Lakota

3. Quote 2 • “We will be known forever by the tracks we leave.” • Lakota saying. Uncredited

4. Quote 3 • “How smooth must be the language of the whites, when they can make right look like wrong, and wrong look right.” • Black Hawk, Sioux

5. Think About • Does the federal government have a right to forcibly remove a group of people from a particular area?

6. Cherokee culture… • Before contact, Cherokee culture had developed and thrived for almost 1,000 years in the southeastern United States • The lower Appalachian states of Georgia, Tennessee, North and South Carolina, and parts of Kentucky and Alabama.

7. Background information • Since first contact with European explorers in the 1500s, the Cherokee Nation had been recognized as one of the most progressive among American Indian tribes. • Cherokee culture continued to flourish with the invention of the Cherokee alphabet by Sequoyah in 1821.

8. A government decision… • The white communities turned on their Indian neighbors. • Government(Jackson) decided it was time for the Cherokees to leave • Farms, homes and land forfeited

9. Indian Removal Act • In 1830 the Congress of the United States passed the "Indian Removal Act." • Many Americans were against the act, most notably Tennessee Congressman Davy Crockett • it passed anyway

10. The Bill becomes Law • President Jackson quickly signed the bill into law • The Cherokees challenged the removal laws in the Supreme Court • Established the Cherokee Nation

11. Court ruling… • 1832, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Cherokee • Worcester v. Georgia • Chief Justice John Marshall ruled that the Cherokee Nation was sovereign. • removal laws invalid • The Cherokee would have to agree to removal in a treaty • The treaty would have to be ratified by the Senate

12. Removing the Cherokees… • 1835 – Major Ridge and members of Cherokee Treaty Party sign Treaty of New Echota - 500 of 17,000 • President Jackson now has the document he needs

13. Ratification of the treaty… • Daniel Webster and Henry Clay, speak out against the Treaty • Senate ratifies Treaty by one (1) vote

14. The removal of Indians began… • 1838 - the U.S. began removal to Oklahoma • fulfilling a promise the government made to Georgia in 1802

15. General Wool protested • General John Wool resigned his command in protest, delaying the action. • Wool believed the Cherokee should keep their land

16. Removal Begins… • General Winfield Scott, arrived at New Echota on May 17, 1838 • 7000 men – heavily armed, well trained • By June the removal begins

17. Marching to Oklahoma…. • In one of the saddest episodes of our brief history, men, women, and children were taken from their land, herded into makeshift forts with minimal facilities and food, then forced to march a thousand miles.

19. The Trail Where They Cried • The route they traveled and the journey itself became known as "The Trail of Tears" • "The Trail Where They Cried" • "NunnadaulTsuny“ • Cherokee Translation

28. Resources • The Trail of Tears • Cherokee Messenger