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The Cherokee Nation is the second largest Indian tribe in the United States. There are more than 200, 000 members. Almost 70, 000 of these Cherokees live in the 7, 000 square mile area of the Cherokee Nation which is not considered a reservation, but a jurisdictional service area that includes all of the eight counties and portions of six in northeastern Oklahoma. The big question is how and why they moved from their homeland, Georgia. The Cherokee have always had a proud heritage, and that is what helped them through their struggles with the United States. Ever since the first contact with European explorers in the 1500 s, the Cherokee have been considered as one of the most civilized and advanced tribes.
The Southeast resembled Mexico in an amazing way. The way the towns were laid out with a central plaza and square houses with courtyards helped to show what was important to the Cherokee. They held a regard for their ball games, feather mantles, and a New Year ritual involving a rekindling of fire. These rituals involved human sacrifice, maize, beans, and squash. The Cherokee culture survived for thousands of years before the settlers came, and continues to develop along with help from the new advances of the white people. In the beginning, many of the Indians were sick of the treatment they had been receiving and left their beloved homeland in the Southeast and settled in Missouri in 1782.
Early, President Thomas Jefferson said he thought the Indians would be happier if they move away from the conflicts with the white settlers. But filled with pride and love for their homeland, many of the Cherokee refused to leave and began to attack whites. As a young man, Andrew Jackson was nearly killed in one of these attacks. When he became President later, he showed his hatred for the Indians by stopping at nothing to see them removed. In 1802, President Jefferson told the state of Georgia they could force the Indians to leave the state. This announcement was called the Compact of 1802.
In 1808, some of the Cherokees knew they would not be able to make peace and left the Southeast, they were called the Old Settlers. Still the Cherokee that remained passed their own law, which stated no Cherokee could sell land without all Cherokee agreeing to the sale. The penalty for breaking this law was death, and under Cherokee law the killer could not be arrested for murder. As a general, Andrew Jackson became very impatient with the United States because the Compact of 1802 was not working. Jackson was urging officials to follow through with their initial decision.
The Cherokee did not want to give up on Jackson changing his mind, and they tried one more attempt to try to win him over to their side. In 1813, they joined him in the war against the Creek. A Cherokee chief actually saved Jacksons life at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. With their help Jackson defeated the Creek in 1814 and took over 23 million acres of land. He gave none to the Cherokee and suggested that it was time for them to leave the Southeast.
Meanwhile, while all of these things were going on the Indians thought that maybe if they tried to live more like the white people that they would be accepted. This is were the term Five Civilized Tribes, which many Indians found insulting, came to be. Cherokees began to prosper as farmers and traders, they owned slaves, and many sent their children to boarding schools along with white children. By the 1820 s, Cherokee life had changed dramatically. They moved from their traditional houses and moved into log cabins and brick homes. Yet, this was not enough for the white settlers and not all Indians wanted to live like white people.
The worst thing that could happen did in 1828 when a young boy found a small gold nugget in a stream in Georgia and more than 3, 000 people looking for gold entered Indian lands. In July 1829, Georgia passed laws prohibiting Indians from owning property, and the state took all of their lands, including the gold minds. If the Indians fought back they were simply jailed or killed. Not all of America hated the Indians and many were sickened by the treatment they were receiving from the government. Many famous Americans like Henry Clay, Davy Crockett, and Daniel Webster tried to influence the President. But Jackson had made up his mind along time ago and refused to listen to the people.
In 1829, Jackson made it clear that all Indians in the Southeast must be removed to the west. Jackson even disagreed with a Supreme Court ruling in order to ensure the removal of the Cherokee. Finally, Jackson offered to pay the Cherokee an insulting four and a half million dollars for their land. The Cherokee leader, John Ross, asked for twenty million, but Jackson refused. Even worse, 300 Cherokee secretly signed a contract called the Treaty of New Echo, which said the Cherokee would move west for the four and a half million dollars.
Even though a petition was signed by 15, 694 Cherokee, the government ignored them. General Winfield Scott was sent in by Jackson to remove the Indians. Scott threatened the Indians with death if the did not cooperate. Many of the Cherokee moved before they could be forced out, but for those who did not they had no idea of the struggles ahead. On May 10, 1838 general Scott led 10, 000 soldiers from surrounding states to begin the capture of the Indians. No Indian was safe, and if they tried to run they were beaten or shot.
Soldiers entered homes, schools, and businesses to capture the Cherokee. Many of the soldiers were ashamed of what they were doing and allowed people to escape. The roundup ended on June 17, 1838. Those that were captured were put in stockades which were unfit for living.
They were provided with rotten food, not enough blankets, and because of overcrowding nowhere to sleep. Before they even began the move over 2, 500 Cherokee died of sickness, disease, and malnutrition. The Trail of Tears last from three weeks to four months. They traveled in horrible conditions with little to no provisions along a 900 mile nightmare. Farmers along the way over charged the Indians for food and blankets because there was no other place for them to turn. President Van Buren knew how bad these conditions were, but he wanted Americans to believe the removal of the Indians was successful.
Bad weather, poor food, and unthinkable exhaustion caused, of 16, 000 who started the trek, from 4, 000 to 8, 000 to never make it to the west. Finally, after reaching Indian Territory, Oklahoma, the Indians had to start over again. They began again by ways of agriculture to start a new life after such a horrific struggle. They still faced struggles in Oklahoma like the dust bowl and the Depression. Yet they continued on and went even further to create their own written language, and establish a permanent form of government. The success of the Cherokees proves that the Indians are capable of civilization, but it does not prove that they will succeed in it.
The Cherokee built schools, churches, started newspapers, and businesses. In September of 1839, as the final group came off the Trail of Tears, a new constitution was adopted. Tahlequah became the new Cherokee capital and a center for business and cultural activity. Another interesting fact about the Cherokee, led by Sequoyahs syllabify in 1821, the Cherokee people had a higher literacy rate than the white settlers, all before Oklahoma became a state. The tribe has made huge leaps in progress due to an enactment of a tax code, a district court, and law enforcement. The Cherokee nation also has been successful in business including; Cherokee Nation Enterprises, Cherokee Nation Industries, Inc.
CNE is in control of three Cherokee casino facilities, two convenience stores, and a Cherokee gift shop. CNI is a multi-million dollar supplier to major defense contractors as well. Not all Indian nations have been as successful as the Cherokee, but you can see that they have recovered more than many Americans ever thought was possible, especially the government. The Indians had many little confrontations with the white settlers and the white government. The Indians didn't always get along with the white people.
Even though the Cherokee Indians were a very peaceful tribe they had wars with the whites. All the wars that the Indians went through they lost land or something valuable to them like faith, homes, life styles and sometimes their life. The first major war with the white people the war between 1775 and 1795. They lost all of the land which is now Tennessee.
The Indians didn't fight like the white traditional ways of fighting. They used a way of fight call guerrilla warfare of in other words hit and run. Since this war lasted for about twenty years there was a lot deaths. Many people called the Indians savages but in most ways they were more...
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Research essay sample on Four And A Half Trail Of Tears
