Removal of the Cherokees
B00386518
Section 11
Chapter 7
The Removal of the Cherokees
Why did Removal Happen?
The Trail of Tears was a name given to the cruel journey of the Cherokee Indians that were forced to move west from their native land in Georgia by The United States of America. It was a crucial time in United States history and much of the blame has been put on Americans. But it should be known that removal of the Cherokee tribe has two sides. Removal of the Cherokee Indians happened not only because of White Americans but also from Internal Cherokee Strife. White Americans wanted the Cherokees removed because they valued the Cherokees’ land, Americans felt that Native Americans never have and never could integrate into white society, and also whites felt that the land was rightfully theirs. Internal Cherokee strife also played a role in the Cherokees displacement from different viewpoints within the tribe.
Throughout the 19th century, white Americans fought for the removal of Cherokees from Georgia. White Americans valued the Cherokees’ land in Georgia because it was rich in gold and the Cherokees were generally not making much improvement on the land. Once the Cherokees were out, Americans could freely buy/sell the land and use it to create gold mines and big plantations. The Cherokees had never done this because they were never fully were integrated into White American society. Before colonization, Cherokees’ were mostly hunters and gatherers. Women did little farming, while men went on long hunts into the wilderness. Americans tried to introduce the ways of farming to the Cherokees but they never fully grasped it. In Source 2, Thomas Jefferson compares the whites and the Native Americans according to their food sources. He argues that every year the Native Americans have food scarcity and death because they don’t have the “habit of cultivating the earth” like Americans do and chase the deer and buffalo out west. Americans wanted these Native Americans out of their land so
Section 11
Chapter 7
The Removal of the Cherokees
Why did Removal Happen?
The Trail of Tears was a name given to the cruel journey of the Cherokee Indians that were forced to move west from their native land in Georgia by The United States of America. It was a crucial time in United States history and much of the blame has been put on Americans. But it should be known that removal of the Cherokee tribe has two sides. Removal of the Cherokee Indians happened not only because of White Americans but also from Internal Cherokee Strife. White Americans wanted the Cherokees removed because they valued the Cherokees’ land, Americans felt that Native Americans never have and never could integrate into white society, and also whites felt that the land was rightfully theirs. Internal Cherokee strife also played a role in the Cherokees displacement from different viewpoints within the tribe.
Throughout the 19th century, white Americans fought for the removal of Cherokees from Georgia. White Americans valued the Cherokees’ land in Georgia because it was rich in gold and the Cherokees were generally not making much improvement on the land. Once the Cherokees were out, Americans could freely buy/sell the land and use it to create gold mines and big plantations. The Cherokees had never done this because they were never fully were integrated into White American society. Before colonization, Cherokees’ were mostly hunters and gatherers. Women did little farming, while men went on long hunts into the wilderness. Americans tried to introduce the ways of farming to the Cherokees but they never fully grasped it. In Source 2, Thomas Jefferson compares the whites and the Native Americans according to their food sources. He argues that every year the Native Americans have food scarcity and death because they don’t have the “habit of cultivating the earth” like Americans do and chase the deer and buffalo out west. Americans wanted these Native Americans out of their land so