Andrew Jackson's The Trail Of A Million Tears

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The Trail of a Million Tears
Held at gunpoint, forced to leave, two thousand miles, nine states, six months, and millions of tears. These statements may not mean much to you, but in the case of the Cherokee, Seminole, Choctaw, Creek, and Chickasaw tribes, these words mean everything. On May 20, 1830, president Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act, forcing five Native American tribes off their native land. Many of the tribes decided to take a warpath against the United States(U.S.). However, the Cherokee decided to take the U.S. to court through the case of Johnson v. McIntosh. The Cherokee proved that the right of ownership of the land could only be recognized under tribal law, not U.S. law. The result of the case ruled in favor of …show more content…
Since Europeans first arrived in North America, in the year 1492, Natives were treated with a great disrespect. Originally, when Europeans arrived in North America, the natives treated the Europeans with a lot of respect. However, the longer the Europeans overstayed their welcome, the harsher terms were between them and the Natives. Many diseases that came from Europe, such as measles and smallpox, were not present in the Native American tribes. Over time, many natives began to die from the diseases because there was not a well known cure. After many natives started dying from the diseases, the Native Americans began to force the Europeans off their land. The Europeans, however, took this as a great act of disrespect and began to fight the natives, killing even more along with the many that died from smallpox and measles. In the mid 1800s, the discovery of gold in the west coast, on land designated to natives in places such as California, brought millions of newcomers to the natives land. Native Americans tried to hold their ground, but the new settlers didn’t care and began to make claims and camps on native grounds. Natives were then forced off their land once again, however, this time around they had no land designated for them to inhabit. The natives had to find their own land this time, moving north towards present day Nevada and Idaho. They were forced to start over from scratch once …show more content…
A Native American, by the name of Blaine Taylor, said, “We could have had a trail of tears and a list of excuses. Instead, we persevered.” Taylor explained that they could have easily had a list of excuses, but they decided to deal with their struggles and persevere. Even after arriving at their designated land, Native Americans still faced many struggles. Natives faced even more struggles in the future, such as when gold was discovered on their land and they were forced off their land by gold diggers. Along the way, many natives died and when the remaining natives arrived in the new land, more died from the such harsh conditions. At their old land, natives had set up their own laws, judiciary systems, and even developed their own school systems, but they could not return to their thriving
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