A Brief History of The Trail of Tears

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A Brief History of The Trail of Tears

• By Nora
• Group T-6
• December 9, 2001

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One Artists
Interpretation
Trail of Tears
of The
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How It Began

• Before our story really starts, the Cherokee
  Indians of Georgia were living fairly peacefully
  in their ancestral homeland. They farmed the
  fertile land, and hunted. They had their own
  constitution, religion, and government. Mostly,
  they didnt bother the white people nearby. One
  chief even saved the life of the President in a
  battle.

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How It Began

• All this was soon to change, though. When gold
  was found on Cherokee land, the whites wanted out
  with the Native Americans so they could farm the
  rich land and dig for gold. The Cherokee, who
  had seen other tribes moved and knew how terrible
  the journey would be, resisted. When the
  government brought the matter to the Supreme
  Court, it ruled in favor of the Cherokee, saying
  they could only begin an Indian Removal Act if
  the Indians who they wanted to move signed a new
  treaty, agreeing to the plan.

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How It Began

• Most of the Cherokee didnt want to move, and
  John Ross (a Cherokee leader) thought they were
  safe. However, three rebellious tribe members
  (led by John Ridge) signed the proclamation.
  Ross and his followers found out, and the signers
  were killed. By that time, though, it was too
  late. The Indian Removal Act was in action,
  and no one could stop it.

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The Trip

• In 1838, General Winfield Scott and the US Army
  came to move the Cherokee. They would walk from
  their home, and the home of their ancestors
  before them, all the way to a reservation in
  Arkansas. Georgia to Arkansas? Thats a long
  walk! The Cherokee knew from the walks of others
  that it was to be more than just long.

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The Trip

• Naturally, many Cherokee ran away, unwilling to
  walk with their white enemies. Some of those who
  tried to escape where caught. Others made it to
  freedom. Those who did not escape had to travel.
  

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The Trip

• First about 5,000 Cherokee went in boats. It
  was summer and the hot sun killed many. John
  Ross begged for a winter walk, thinking it would
  be better.

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The Trip

• Unfortunately, winter was even worse then
  summer. Snow fell and the wind whistled. Who
  cared? They still had to walk, so they did.
  They walked all day and slept in the open all
  night.

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The Trip

• Many got sick on the long walk. If they
  couldnt keep up, they were left to die. The
  elders, with their immense knowledge, were no
  longer fit for such a walk. Who cared if they
  didnt reach the end? The soldiers didnt.
  Sometimes the men in army colors would even shoot
  a Cherokee who was slowing them down. Almost all
  of the 17,000 Cherokee either walked or traveled
  by boat. Roughly 4,000 died from horrible
  conditions, illness, starvation, threats caused
  by nature, and the soldiers, who didnt care.

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The Trail of Tears

• This horrific event in Americas history, so
  hidden among the perils and triumphs of our white
  ancestors, is with us today. The trail that so
  many thousands of feet walked over is still
  there, even if we cannot see it, and there are
  still 4,000 bodies buried by the side of that
  road. This long and terrible walk was known by
  those who experienced it as The Trail Where They
  Cried. This terrible event is more commonly
  known as The Trail Of Tears.

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The Trail of Tears

• The symbol of the trail is the Cherokee Rose, now
  also the official state flower of Georgia. This
  slide is here to remind us of a painful mark in
  our history, which we should never forget.

The Cherokee Rose