The Trail Of Tears A Dark Period - 1604 Words

The trail of tears was a dark period in US history. Fueled by greed and racism but rationalized through what we believed was best for our country, we took even more from people who had already lost so much. We deemed natives as incompatible with society because they did not share our beliefs and culture. Now in modern times, we face issues that are parallel to this era and there are many things that can and should be learned from our mistakes and generalizations from the past. In the years leading up to the Indian Removal Act, which was the initial cause of the Trail of Tears, the United States was in a shift. The country was seeing an unrivaled influx of European settlers looking for careers and land. This caused population to skyrocket, in fact in the years 1790-1840, the United States saw a 350% increase in population. In other words, the need for fertile land and viable property was high. At the same time, attempts at assimilation of Indians into American society were proving to be futile. Americans saw the Indians as â€Å"noble savages†, who were uncivilized but able to be fit for society if they were converted to Christianity and adopted Anglo-European culture and behavior. With the growing need for land and the rise in tension between Natives and fearful white settlers, something needed to be done in the eyes of the American people. These two things combined is what really set up the foreground for what would become the Indian Removal Act. President Andrew Jackson, inShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of The Book The Game The Oregon Trail 1589 Words   |  7 PagesIn the game The Oregon Trail, the player tries to make the journey west for gold without their character dying. Just like the game portrays, the trail was a grueling journey to follow a dream. The trail was a game of reality for families moving west. The dream of striking gold and being rich. Women tagged along with their husbands on their journey for gold. The journey was long and difficult, o ften leading to injuries and death. While on the journey women kept a feminine demeanor even though beingRead MoreThe Horrors Behind Cherokee Removal967 Words   |  4 Pagesfor Native Americans. When the colonists first arrived, there were ten million Native Americans; over the next three centuries, over 90% of the entire population was wiped out due to the white man. The removal of Native Americans marks a humiliating period of United States history. President Andrew Jackson attempted to consolidate the Native Americans when he told them â€Å"‘circumstances render it impossible that [they could] flourish in the midst of a civilized community. [They] have but one remedy withinRead MoreThe United States Brief History2271 Words   |  10 PagesThroughout the United States’ brief history there have been a few black eyes that have haunted the country as a whole and shaped it to what it is today. One of the more important, and dark, moments in the history of the countr y was the Trail Of Tears. What resulted in the loss of thousands of lives was the relocation of the Native American people who were rightfully on their own land. Behind this calamitous event were the politicians that were leaders of the country of that time. Despite being lookedRead MoreThe Systematic Destruction of the Native American Nations in the 1830s1887 Words   |  8 Pagesof the Mississippi. The government came up with many reasons that the Native Americans had to move. Those tribes that did not move voluntarily were forcefully relocated from their ancestral lands. This forced move would later be known as The Trail of Tears. The American government came up with many reasons that the Native American peoples needed to move west of the Mississippi. Many Easterners felt that the move would protect Native American culture.1 Many Indians tried to assimilate into theRead MoreAndre Norton s Daybreak 2250 A.d1160 Words   |  5 Pages it was also in the middle of a Red Scare Throughout much of the twentieth century, the United States worried about Communist activities within its borders. This concern led to sweeping federal action against ALIENS and citizens alike during periods known today as Red scares. (Phelps, Lehman 260) Andre was living in a time of oppression of women, aftermath of war, and relief from the passing of former disaster, these themes are reflected heavily in her novel. At the time Andre Norton authoredRead MorePre Nazi Holocaust And The Civil War1181 Words   |  5 PagesJohn Downing asks several tough questions to the believers of more speech: â€Å"What was the ‘healing antibiotic’ [(referring to more speech)] after the 1838 Cherokee Trail of Tears†¦Why will dialogue occur? What kind of dialogue?† (Downing 177), and later, â€Å"..where is the ‘more speech’ during the centuries of slavery†¦Was the Civil War fought simply because Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth†¦and their relatively few supporters spoke† (Downing 183). He also gives the example of pre-Nazi Germany, describeRead MoreThe s Survival Of The Fittest Theory1875 Words   |  8 Pageswhite settlers believed they deserved† (â€Å"Tears of Trail†). Therefore, President George Washington believed the White Man’s Burden was the best way to solve the problem creating a campaign made â€Å"to make Native Americans as much like white Americans as possible by encouraging them convert to Christianity, learn to speak and read English, and adopt European-style economic practices such as the individual ownership of land and other property† (â€Å"Tears of Trail†). In result white Americans managed toRead MoreThe Trail Of Tears1511 Words   |  7 Pages Looking at the background of every great civilization it is very easy to see that every civilization has a dark past. For example the United States has shameful things to look back on such as slavery and the forceful moving of the indian tribes also known as the Trail of Tears. This shows that although the country is great and well developed today they all had to do something to get to where they are today. Italy is one of the most influential countries today. This where Christianity, MythologyRead MoreThe Lewis And Clark Expedition1424 Words   |  6 Pagestricked into signing their land away in treaties. When some members of the tribe would not leave the territory, The U.S. government sent in 7,000 troops, who forced the Cherokees into stockades at bayonet point...Then began the march known as the Trail of Tears, in which 4,000 Cherokee people died of cold, hunger, and disease (Indian Removal Pbs). The government used fear to remove the people, again showing the true injustice. Ne arly 4,000 people died because the American government wanted to use theirRead MoreThe Land: Understanding Why the Land Is Important to the Cherokee Nation4099 Words   |  17 PagesThe Land: Understanding Why the Land is Important to the Cherokee Nation Abstract Most of us have learnt about the Trail of Tears as an event in American history, but not many of us have ever explored why the removal of the Indians to the West was more than an issue of mere land ownership. Here, the meaning and importance of land to the original Cherokee Nation of the Southeastern United States is investigated. American land was seen as a way for white settlers to profit, but the Cherokee held