Key Takeaways
1. The Betrayal of Early Promises and Symbiotic Relationships
Having helped settlers for hundreds of years, five Native American tribes found it increasingly more difficult to relate to and trust the country that had once acted as their allies.
Initial cooperation. The relationship between early European settlers and Native American tribes was initially one of mutual dependence and assistance. Indigenous peoples, acting as benefactors and teachers, shared vital knowledge of the land, agriculture, and survival skills, without which many early colonies would have perished. This symbiotic relationship laid the groundwork for the new nation's existence, with natives even fighting alongside colonists during the American Revolution.
Broken agreements. Despite this crucial aid, the gratitude of the new American nation quickly faded as land became coveted. Treaties and agreements, such as the Proclamation of 1763 which designated lands between the Mississippi River and the Appalachian Mountains as native territory, were systematically disregarded. The settlers, driven by a sense of racial superiority and entitlement, increasingly encroached upon these promised lands, viewing native peacefulness as a weakness to exploit.
Uneven exchange. The exchange between cultures was profoundly imbalanced, with natives providing essential survival tools and valuable crops like tobacco and chocolate, while Europeans introduced horses, guns, diseases, and a religion often twisted to justify atrocities. Even as some American founders admired native governance, particularly the Iroquois Confederacy, this reverence was conveniently forgotten when it became inconvenient to their expansionist desires. This set a dangerous precedent for future interactions, culminating in the forced removals.
2. Manifest Destiny: A Religious Justification for Land Theft
Manifest Destiny is part of the justification that was used to steal the lands.
Divine entitlement. Manifest Destiny, though coined later in 1845, embodied a long-held American belief that the Christian God had ordained them as the rightful owners of all lands, regardless of prior occupancy. This ideology served as a powerful propaganda tool, rationalizing the aggressive expansion of American territory and the imposition of its religion, democracy, and capitalism upon indigenous peoples. It provided a moral shield for actions that were inherently immoral and illegal.
Forgetting debts. To justify the theft of native lands, Americans had to conveniently forget the centuries of debt owed to the indigenous peoples who had ensured their survival. As settlers became self-sufficient, the native populations transformed from benevolent helpers into obstacles to American ambition and greed. This shift allowed a smaller, but influential, segment of the population to promote the narrative that natives were "savage" and "inferior," thereby dehumanizing them and making their displacement seem acceptable.
Religion over reality. The Christian religion was frequently used as a moral crutch to defend actions that many Americans, even at the time, knew were wrong. Leaders like Andrew Jackson, despite likely knowing the falsity of the claims, persuaded many of the validity of Manifest Destiny. This twisted religious justification allowed for the perpetration of atrocities, including theft, murder, and genocide, against non-European peoples, staining both the nation's history and the very principles of pacifism on which the religion was founded.
3. The Georgia Gold Rush Ignites the Indian Removal Act
The problem with simply picking up and heading to find gold wasn’t that it would be costly and dangerous; it was that the lands were promised to the natives.
Gold's allure. The discovery of gold in the Appalachian Mountains of Georgia in 1828, though known to native nations who held little interest in it, ignited a feverish interest among Americans. This "Georgia Gold Rush" became the immediate catalyst for intensified demands for native lands, particularly those belonging to the Cherokee Nation. Prospectors and profiteers, dreaming of quick wealth, disregarded existing treaties and the rightful ownership of the land.
Illegal seizure. The Georgia government, fueled by the gold fever and popular demand, illegally seized Cherokee lands, which were explicitly protected by treaties. A lottery system was established, allowing citizens to purchase $10 plots of land within the Cherokee Nation, despite having no legal right to do so. While few individual fortunes were made from the estimated $2 million in mined gold, the cost to the native nations was immeasurable, setting in motion events that would deny them their ancestral homes.
The Indian Removal Act. In 1830, the US Congress passed the Indian Removal Act, granting the president the authority to negotiate treaties for the removal of native tribes to lands west of the Mississippi River. President Andrew Jackson, driven by his personal racism and desire for native lands, championed this act. The act falsely promised monetary compensation and protection for the relocating tribes, but it was largely a pretext to forcibly dispossess them, marking a significant shift from treaty-making to outright coercion.
4. Cherokee Resistance: A Peaceful Fight Against Injustice
The Cherokee Nation took their claims to the US courts because they were aware of how bound the nation was by the rulings of their court systems.
Legal strategy. Unlike other tribes who resorted to armed resistance, the Cherokee Nation adopted a peaceful, methodical approach to combat American encroachment: they used the US court system. Led by Principal Chief John Ross, who was only one-eighth Cherokee but deeply committed to his people, they sought to prove their civilization and legal rights within the American framework. The Cherokees had even adopted their own constitution in 1827, mirroring American governance.
Court victories. The Cherokees achieved significant legal victories. In 1831, the Supreme Court acknowledged their "unquestionable right to the lands they occupy." More decisively, in 1832's Worcester v. Georgia, the Court ruled that Georgia's laws could not extend into Cherokee territory and that treaties protected native peoples from state trespass. Chief Justice John Marshall famously stated, "Protection does not imply the destruction of the protected," directly challenging the premise of forced removal.
Presidential defiance. Despite these clear legal rulings in favor of the Cherokee Nation, President Andrew Jackson defiantly ignored the Supreme Court's decision, reportedly stating, "John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it." This blatant disregard for the rule of law, coupled with his deep-seated racism, undermined the very foundations of American justice. It demonstrated that for Jackson and his supporters, legal and moral principles were secondary to the pursuit of land and profit.
5. Andrew Jackson: A President's Racist and Authoritarian Legacy
His real victims were the natives against whom he had a strong, unjustified hatred.
A complex figure. Andrew Jackson, often revered as a champion of the common man, possessed a complex and deeply flawed character. Orphaned young and known for his violent temper and dueling, he rose to prominence as a general in the War of 1812, gaining Florida for the US. His charisma and image as a self-made man allowed many to overlook his significant moral failings and authoritarian tendencies.
Deep-seated racism. Jackson harbored a profound and unjustified hatred for Native Americans, viewing them as inferior and believing their lands rightfully belonged to white settlers. This racism, coupled with his unwavering belief in Manifest Destiny, blinded him to facts and treaties. Despite having fought alongside native warriors and even adopting a native orphan, he consistently made decisions based on broad generalizations and personal prejudice, leading to the suffering of thousands.
Abuse of power. As president, Jackson consistently overstepped his authority, ignoring both Congress and the Supreme Court when their decisions conflicted with his agenda. He filled positions with loyalists rather than qualified individuals and believed the federal government was superior to state laws, yet selectively enforced this belief. His tyrannical actions led to the formation of the Whig party, specifically to oppose his overreach, highlighting that his contemporaries recognized the profound wrongness of his policies, particularly regarding native removal.
6. The Brutality of Forced Removal and Concentration Camps
All of the Cherokees who refused to leave or who tried to flee from the military were shot and killed on their own land by a young invading foreign power.
Invalid treaty enforcement. In 1838, despite the Treaty of New Echota being signed by a minority faction (Major Ridge's Treaty Party) without the consent of the majority Cherokee Nation, the US Congress ratified it by a single vote. President Martin Van Buren, Jackson's protégé, then ordered the military to enforce this illegitimate treaty. This act cemented Jackson's legacy of injustice and initiated the brutal forced removal.
Concentration camps and atrocities. Beginning in May 1838, US troops rounded up approximately 16,000 Cherokees, forcing them into temporary concentration camps in Tennessee and Alabama. Conditions were horrific: inadequate food, rampant malnutrition, dysentery, and widespread rape. Those who resisted or attempted to flee were summarily shot. White looters immediately plundered their abandoned homes, taking anything of value, further demonstrating the callous indifference of the American government and its citizens.
A deadly journey. The initial summer removals were disastrous, exacerbated by a severe drought and the US government's failure to provide promised funds or supplies. Thousands died from disease, starvation, and exposure. Although Chief Ross negotiated a delay until fall, conditions in the camps worsened. When the main groups finally departed, they faced an 800-mile trek through an unfamiliar, harsh winter, often on foot, with minimal provisions. This journey, which the Cherokees called “Nu na da ul tsun yi” ("the place where they cried"), claimed the lives of an estimated 4,000 to 6,000 people—nearly a quarter of their entire nation.
7. Stories of Pain, Loss, and Resilience on the Trail
The stories from the Trail of Tears are mostly tragic, with many of them about saying their final farewells to loved ones, and sometimes entire families dying.
Echoes of suffering. The Trail of Tears left an indelible mark on the collective memory of the Native American tribes, particularly the Cherokees. Personal accounts, collected in works like the Indian-Pioneer Story Collection, reveal the profound pain, loss, and resilience of those who endured the forced march. These narratives, passed down through generations, humanize the statistics and provide raw, emotional insights into the lived experience of displacement.
Harrowing journeys. Survivors recounted the daily struggles: meager rations of roasted green corn and cornbread, often going days without water, and the constant threat of disease. Many lost entire families, never knowing if loved ones were separated, died, or simply vanished. The "trail" itself was often not a path but a wilderness that the Cherokees, including the young and old, had to clear with axes for wagons and horses, further highlighting the unpreparedness and cruelty of the removal.
Acts of defiance and hope. Amidst the despair, there were also stories of defiance and the enduring human spirit. Some small groups, like the one described by Jobe Alexander's father, revolted against their captors, killed guards, and escaped into the mountains, finding freedom through desperate fighting. Women on the march would sing, reminding their tribe that despite their suffering, their god watched over them. These acts, however small, provided glimmers of hope and a testament to their unwavering cultural identity.
8. Rebuilding a Nation Amidst Continued Betrayal
Ross remained in the position of the Cherokee’s Principal Chief for nearly 30 years. The entire time, he fought to restore his people back to a state of normalcy and prosperity.
A new beginning. Upon arrival in the designated Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma), the surviving Cherokees faced the daunting task of rebuilding their lives from scratch. In August 1839, John Ross was overwhelmingly re-elected as Principal Chief, providing a crucial stabilizing force for his traumatized people. They established Tahlequah as their new capital, a city that remains the Cherokee capital today, symbolizing their determination to endure.
Ross's unwavering leadership. For nearly three decades, Chief Ross tirelessly worked to restore the Cherokee Nation's structure and prosperity. He oversaw the construction of schools and a courthouse, emphasizing education and a return to familiar governance systems. He relentlessly pursued the US government for the promised $5 million from the illegitimate Treaty of New Echota, finally securing full payment in 1852, a testament to his persistence and commitment to justice.
Lingering injustices. Even after rebuilding, the US government's betrayals continued. Ross's final fight, shortly before his death in 1866, was to secure a treaty ensuring that freed Cherokee slaves would be recognized as citizens of the Cherokee Nation, providing them a place in a post-Civil War nation. However, the promise that native peoples would be left alone in their new lands was ultimately broken again, as American expansion continued to push them onto even harsher, more confined territories, fulfilling the grim prediction of Joanna Jones's grandmother: "Some day you will be taxed out of your homes here just as we were there."
9. A Legacy Acknowledged, But Not Fully Rectified
The Trail of Tears became a National Historic Trail in 1987 as a way of remembering the pain, suffering, and loss of a people who had done nothing wrong, even using the US court systems to prove their rights to keep their own lands.
Symbol of remembrance. The profound tragedy of the Trail of Tears, initially downplayed or ignored in American history, has slowly gained recognition. A powerful legend, the Cherokee Rose, emerged from the suffering, symbolizing mothers' tears, the gold that caused their removal, and the seven clans of the Cherokee Nation. This enduring symbol, with white roses thriving along the historic routes, serves as a poignant reminder of the immense loss.
Official acknowledgment. In 1987, nearly 150 years after the forced removals, the US Congress designated the Trail of Tears as a National Historic Trail. This act was a crucial, albeit belated, step towards acknowledging the pain, suffering, and illegal actions perpetrated against the Cherokee and other Native American tribes. Over the subsequent decades, the recognized portions of the trail have expanded, reflecting a growing understanding of the multiple routes and tribes affected.
An ongoing journey. While the designation of a National Historic Trail is a beginning, it represents only a small step in redressing the historical wrongs. The Trail of Tears stands as a stark reminder of how greed, racism, and the abuse of power can lead to genocide and profound injustice. The ongoing challenge for the United States is not merely to acknowledge this dark chapter but to actively work towards meaningful reconciliation and ensure that such repugnant acts are never perpetrated again against any people.
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