Native+American+Migration+Westward-+The+Trail+of+Tears

The Trail of Tears **
 * 

Painting by Robert Lindneux (1942) depicting the Native American migration westward.

The movement of the Native Americans westward, also known as the Trail of Tears, is considered perhaps the most infamous forced migration in the history of the United States. In 1838, approximately 16,000 Cherokee Native Americans were required by the government of President Andrew Jackson, to leave the comfort and safety of their ancestral lands in Georgia and move to Indian Territory in Oklahoma.

One of the main reasons for the Trail of Tears migration was the Compact of 1802, in which the government of the United States planned to nullify Cherokee land titles in Georgia. This was put into action by the Indian Removal Act of 1830, when the president Andrew Jackson passed a legislation forcing Native Americans to surrender their lands in the Cherokee Nation east of the Mississippi River and move westward. Tension between the government and the Cherokee Nation arose in 1830s, with the discovery of gold in Georgia. White Georgians trespassed onto Native American territory, squatting, robbing, and looting. In 1835, the State of Georgia held lotteries to bid off Cherokee lands, without the permission of the landowners themselves. Even though the leaders elected by the Cherokee community resisted the invasion of their lands through lawsuits and legal compromise, the government instead negotiated with the Ridge Party, a group that did not represent the majority of the Native American population. In the May of 1838, Cherokee men, women, and children were taken from their homes at gunpoint, and forced to march more than 1,500 miles in harsh conditions.
 * Causes **


 * //"I fought through the War Between the States and have seen many men shot, but the Cherokee Removal was the cruelest work I ever knew." - Georgian Soldier //**

This map shows the routes taken by Cherokees during their migration westward. After being forcefully evicted from their ancestral lands, the Native Americans, were crowded into internment camps, where they suffered from drought, poor sanitation, and disease. The migration began in November, with discrete groups of about 1,000 people each. The majority of the Cherokees traveled along already established land routes, but about four groups used the water routes, along rivers. Both routes provided challenges for the migrants; navigation was useless in the low water levels, autumn rains muddied the trails, and waters froze over, making river crossings even more dangerous. Having been given little time to prepare themselves, the Cherokees were woefully ill-equipped for a winter on the road. Many died from exposure, disease and brokenheartedness. 

**Push Factors **  
 * Lack of security (trespassers on land)
 *  Tension with state government (conflict over sovereignty)
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Legal persecution (national and state laws discriminating against Native Americans)

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">** Pull Factors ** <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> There are few pull factors as the majority of the Cherokees had little incentive to move; many had to be forced from their homes at gunpoint.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Guarantee of land titles in Oklahoma and Arkansas (Indian Territory)
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Small monetary compensation for houses, farms, and lands in Georgia

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> __**Effects on origin**__: <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 19px;">
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">Effects **<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">The Removal act caused up to 4,000 deaths of Native American’s who were victimized in the harsh policies of the government.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Andrew Jackson’s reason for his intention is clear, as he said, “What good man would prefer a country covered with forests and ranged by a few thousand savages to our extensive Republic, studded with cities, towns, and prosperous farms?” This ideology caused environmental disasters and the destruction of many habitats, endangering the animals and plants.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Families were separated, and the Europeans burnt down or occupied homes and villages that the Cherokees lived in.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Groups of Cherokees traveled by railroad, wagon and boat. A group traveling by wagon is said to have up to five deaths each day due to illness and drought.<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">It was a loss of culture, and the “deep-rooted” tradition of the great Cherokees and the civilization that they set up were both lost.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> __**Effects on Cherokee People**__: <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">
 * __Effects on destination (West)__**: [[image:http://www.nativevillage.org/Archives/2009%20Archives/APRIL%20News/April%202009%20News%20V4/Cherokee.jpg width="342" height="220" align="right"]]
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Newly arrived Cherokees who were forced to migrate were not welcomed by the previously settled Cherokees in the west, which built up tension. (Administration conflict between new majorities of Georgia Cherokees).
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Cherokees' government in Oklahoma established.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">More missionaries arrived in Oklahoma instead of going to Georgia.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Loss of ancestral lands
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Death of 4,000 migrants (1/5 of Cherokee population) due to harsh conditions of forced travel (i.e. little food, clothing, rest, and hygiene)
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Integration of the Cherokee rose legend into Native American mythology

Legend of the Cherokee rose (a flower that grows on the Trail of Tears supposedly sprang up from tears of women) explains the hardships that the Cherokees had to endure during this difficult time.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;"> **" Long time we travel on way to new land. People feel bad when they leave Old Nation. Womens cry and make sad wails. Children cry and many men cry...but they say nothing and just put heads down and keep on go towards West. Many days pass and people die very much."** <span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: center;"> **//-Cherokee Survivor of the Trail of Tears Migration//**


 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;"> Ravenstein's Laws **<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Many migrants unable to find accommodation in destination
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Oklahoma already populated with previously settled Native Americans
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Migrations are two-way movements
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">The departure of Cherokees followed by the arrival of white settlers in Georgia.<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Discovery of gold in 1830s resulted in gold rush (influx of non- Native Americans)
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Most migrants travel relatively short distances (in this case, about 2,000 miles)
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">The Cherokees had poor resources and transport methods (ie. wagon, boat, foot) and so suffered greatly on the journey. When they reached Indian Territory in Oklahoma and Arkansas, many decided to settle to avoid further travel.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Migration occurs in waves
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Three groups of Cherokees left Georgia in the summer of 1838, but the majority of the population migrated in the fall (November). Though they traveled in groups of 1,000 along different routes, they all departed and arrived in about the same period of time.

**<span style="color: #800000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Sources ** <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Knox, Paul L., and Sallie A. Marston. "Internal Forced Migration." Places and Regions in Global Context: Human Geography. 3rd. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc., 2004. Print.

McVickar, Matthew Aaron. "The Cherokee Trail of Tears: America’s Ethnic Cleansing ." (2002). Web. 12 Oct 2009. <http://www.harwich.edu/depts/history/HHJ/tot.htm>. <span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; text-align: left;">"History." //Georgia Trail of Tears//. Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Web. 14 Oct 2009. <http://www.georgiatrailoftears.com/history.html>.

Golden, Randy. "Cherokee Trail of Tears." //Our Georgia History//. Golden Ink, Web. 14 Oct 2009. <http://ourgeorgiahistory.com/indians/cherokee/trail_of_tears.html>.

United States. //Trail of Tears: National Historic Trail//. , 2008. Web. 17 Oct 2009. <http://www.nps.gov/trte/historyculture/stories.htm>. <span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; text-align: center;">

By: Hazal Kucukoglu and Catherine Liou