Trail of Tears

Trail of Tears

INTRODUCTION

“Trail of Tears”, is referred to the tragic part of American history, related to the forced migration of some Native American Tribes. It can be righfully argued that, the eviction of the Indian tribes from their homelands was an unjust act. This event of “Trail of Tears” took place when the native Americans were asked to move away from their homelands in deep South of America. The Cherokee tribes refer to this event as “trail where we cried”, aptly summarizing the pain and tabulations these tribes went through during 1830s. The other tribes who endured this pain included the Choctaw, the Creek, the Seminole, and the Chickasaw tribes. Before 1830, few American Indians left their lands voluntarily but afterwards, from 1831 to 1839, thousands of American Indians were exiled from their homes. U.S. Congress passed the Indian Removal Act, and made it a law, signed by President Andrew Jackson in 1830, forcing the South Eastern American Indians to leave their homes and relocating to an area, known as Indian Territory.

By 1838, around 17,000 Cherokee left their rightful lands, and according to historical statistics, initially a group of 3,000 people left in June, during a very harsh weather. Some got transported through two story flatboats towards Tennessee, Mississippi and Ohio, others who migrated in fall, left on feet. All of these refugees, who left their lands forcefully, had to go through sleet, heavy rains, ice, snow and extreme weather, resulting in the loss of thousands of lives, who could never make to their new home. Some people died of disease, some due to starvation, and others could not born the arduous journey and giving up in their journey half way.

Andrew Jackson was the sevemth president of United States of America and played a pivotal role in the episode of Trail of Tears. Andrew's political career started when he was 30 years old, as he got elected to congress from Tennessee. Jackson's earned fame from the war of 1812, where he crushed Creek nation in the Horseshoe Bend battle also defeated British at New Orleans battle. He was known as “old hickory” because of his uncompromising personality. Jackson played a central role in history of mid 18th century.

DISCUSSION

In 1812, the bloody civil war came to the creek; the Creek or Muskogee received its English name from the early traders who had noticed that their settlements usually were on inland waterways. These traders formed a widespread Konfördeartion descendants of the Coosa and many other Mississippi tribes, which had met de Soto in the 16th Century in the regions of present-day Georgia, South Carolina and Alabama. These traders' gained influence, not just because of their size and strength, but also because of their geographical location in the areas around the UK, France and Spain. The tribe's huge confederation comprizedof six thousand warriors from hundred villages, which kept their land relatively safe from the land hunger of the whites.

The expansion of migration in the southeast in the year 1820 ...