Indian Removal and the Trail of Tears

When Jackson took office, more than 125,000 Native Americans lived east of the Mississippi River. In the South, five major tribes (Choctaws, Creeks, Cherokees, Chickasaws, and Seminoles) still held vast tracts of land. Cotton growers coveted this land for their plantations. White southerners increased pressure on the federal government to move the Native Americans west of the Mississippi.

President Jackson had spent much of his military career fighting Native Americans. Like many Americans, he considered Native Americans to be inferior savages unfit to occupy the land. He even defied a Supreme Court ruling that the state of Georgia could not extend its laws over Cherokee lands. Jackson was alleged to have said, "John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it." The President called for federal legislation clearing the Native Americans off the land. Congress complied by passing the Indian Removal Act in 1830. The legislation approved a wide-scale campaign to transplant the Native American tribes west of the Mississippi River.

How did Jackson's actions regarding the Cherokees impact the checks and balances between the branches of government?

By refusing to enforce a Supreme Court decision, Jackson increased the power of the executive branch at the expense of the judicial branch.

Though Jackson insisted the relocation would be voluntary, whites threatened and coerced the Native Americans to move. The Sauk and Fox tribes in Illinois resisted eviction, but were defeated by U.S. troops. The Cherokee tribe, which had adopted white culture, also defied eviction. In the winter of 1838–39, the U.S. Army rounded up the Cherokees and forced them—at bayonet point—to move west. Four thousand of the malnourished Native Americans died on the freezing march to Oklahoma. This dark incident in American history is called the Trail of Tears.

Avatar: Indian Removal and the Trail of Tears

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Text Version

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Writing Assignment: Cherokee Relations

Write a one-page essay answering the following question:

How did the relationship between white Americans and the Cherokee tribes during the 1820s and 1830s reflect both historical continuity and historical change?

Use this worksheet to write your answer.

Submit your completed writing assignment to the Writing Assignment: Cherokee Relations assignment link in the M3 Tasks Folder.