Page 37 - All About History - Issue 33-15

Bluffer’s Guide
SPRING 1838 WINTER 1838
Military operations The Cherokee begin
to round up the
Cherokee begin.
Thousands are
held at Fort Cass,
a concentration
camp, over the disease, exposure or
summer. starvation.
THE TRAIL OF TEARS
What was it?
In the bitter cold winter of 1838, a Native American
tribe called the Cherokee were forced off their
homeland and made to walk 1,000 miles across the
Deep South. Earlier that year, they had been rounded up
and taken to concentration camps, while their homes were
burned, their property plundered, and their farms put into
a lottery to be won by white settlers. With the tribe now
removed from their land, the US military was able to force
them to march to a new location west of the Mississippi
River. Many were scantily clothed and bare foot, and half
of the party were children. An estimated 4,000 Cherokee
out of 15,000 died on the march that was to become
known as the Trail of Tears as a result of starvation,
disease, exposure and exhaustion.
Why did it happen?
Prior to the 19th century, relations between white
settlers and Native Americans had been relatively
friendly. As it struggled to expand its empire, the US
knew that it was important for political and trading
reasons to have the Natives as their allies. But when
relations with the UK and Spain settled, it was the tribes,
not the ‘civilised’ foes, who were considered an obstacle
to expansion. With rapid population growth, the discovery
of gold and the expansion of slave-operated plantations
in the Deep South, the demand for more land was
greater than ever. In 1830, the Indian Removal Act was
passed, which called for the voluntary relocation of tribes
living east of the Mississippi River, but often resulted in
forced removals. In 1835, the Treaty of New Echota was
negotiated and signed by a small fraction of Cherokee
tribal members, not the tribal leaders. Despite objecting
to Washington, the tribe
was forced to relocate, with
disastrous outcomes. By 1837,
46,000 Native Americans
had been removed from their
homelands, 10,000 of which
died before reaching their
Visitors to the Deep South can destination.
follow the Trail of Tears National
Historic Trail
Who was involved?
Andrew Jackson
1767-1845
Elected president of the United States in
1829, Jackson signed and enforced the
controversial Indian Removal Act.
John Ross
1790-1866
RosswastheprincipalchiefoftheCherokee
nation and campaigned fiercely against their
removal. His wife died on the trail.
the 1,000-mile-
long march to Winfield Scott
the new Indian 1786-1866
territory. More than USArmygeneralScottwasinchargeof
4,000 die from
rounding up the Cherokee, who he then held © Topfoto
in rat-infested stockades with little food.
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