The Trail Of Tears
The Trail Of Tears
October 1, 1838
CHEROKEE NATION, GEORGIA
"Removal" is a term usually applied to getting rid of a wart; it is also the
term used by the United States government, under President Andrew
Jackson, for removing Indians from their native lands.
Jackson had been a particularly fierce Indian fighter, beginning with his days
during the Creek Indian War of 1814. He had pitted Indian tribes against
each other, abandoned all of them, and made handsome profits speculating
on lands taken from the Indians.
In Autumn of 1838, about 18,000 Cherokees of Georgia were forcibly
rounded up by the U.S. Army. They were forced to travel through
Tennessee and Kentucky, across the Ohio and Missouri rivers, and into
Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River. This territory eventually
made up the land which became known as Oklahoma.
Winter snows, summer heat, and drought took their toll. About 4,000
Cherokee were killed along the way from starvation, exposure, and disease.
The Indians called this long march "The Trail of Tears."
President Jackson's removal plan went against the Supreme Court's ruling
that Indians had legal rights to remain at their Georgia ancestral homes.
Many people of that day did denounce the march, but it took place anyway.
Earlier removals had already targeted others of the "Five Civilized Tribes" in
America's Southeast, the Cherokee being the last. Between 1831 and 1833,
there was a removal of 15,000 Choctaws from Mississippi into land west of
Arkansas, with Chickasaws and Creek Indians following soon after.
Pneumonia and cholera took their toll on these traveling Indians, and once
they reached the Indian Territory, thousands died of hardship, illness, and
exposure.
Legend of the Cherokee Rose
When the Trail of Tears started in 1838, the mothers of the Cherokee were grieving and crying so much, they were unable to help their children survive the journey. The elders prayed for a sign that would lift the mother's spirits to give them strength. The next day, a beautiful rose began to grow where each of the mother's tears fell. The rose is white for their tears; a gold center represents the gold taken from Cherokee lands, and seven leaves on each stem for the seven Cherokee clans. The wild Cherokee Rose grows along the route of the Trail of Tears into eastern Oklahoma today.
Trail of Tears / Links / Gifts /
Award/ Spirit/ Awards/ Email /
View Guestbook / Sign Guestbook / Or use this Guestbook /