•Indian Removal Act of 1830- Federal government forced Native Americans to move west. Most moved to Texas and Oklahoma

•Worcester v. Georgia (1832): Supreme Court, still led by Chief Justice John Marshall, ruled that Cherokee land could not be invaded

•Trail of Tears- In 1838, U.S. Army troops forced the 20,000 remaining Cherokee were to move. Most of the 800-mile trip was made on foot. Their money and livestock was stolen along the way. More than one-quarter died during the journey

Aim: How does the Indian Removal and the Trail of Tears portray U.S. treatment of Native Americans?

Do Now: Copy Vocabulary Below

Task 1: Read the poem, Trail of Tears and complete questions 1-3

TRAIL OF TEARS

There's a trail of tearsFlowing from our homelandWashing out the yearsDrowning out the red man.There's a broken heartbeating like a funeral drum,A nation torn apart,So one can be born. There's a memoryThat the eagle holds highWhen we were freeAs the wind in the sky.There's a feeling insideThat stirs our madnessTo have a chosen lifeIn the fields of sadness. There are some empty teepeesFalling into dustLike an endangered speciesWe're losing way too muchWe are a world forgottenPushed aside and left aloneBut comes a time when we will rise again.Oh Great One, hear our prayers and our song.

QUESTIONS:1. What is the tone of this poem? What examples can you use to show your point of view?

2. What inference can you make about the identity of the author?

3. What story is the author telling the reader?

• Attitudes toward Native Americans:– Convert them to Christianity, turn them into farmers, and absorb

them into white culture– Force them to move off their land so white settlers could have it

• Southeastern Tribes– Cherokee, Choctaw, Seminole, Creek, and Chicksaw– Called “five civilized tribes” because they adopted European culture– White farmers and miners wanted their land

Copy notes into your notebook

As the population grew, the colonists pushed farther west into the territories occupied by the American Indians.

Colonists Move West

Inevitably, this movement led to clashes over land.

Jackson saw Indian Removal as an opportunity to provide for the needs of the white farmers and businessmen. He also claimed that removal was also in the best interest of the Indians. Why?

Indian Removal, 1920 -1840

Congress forces Indians to move west of the Mississippi

• President Jackson pushes Congress to force Indians to move west of the Mississippi

• Congress established Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) as the new Indian homeland

• US gov’t creates Bureau of Indian Affairs

Indian Removal Act

U.S. Quick Quiz

1. Why did the U.S government decide to remove the Native Americans in 1830, as to opposed before that date?

2. What do you think the government meant when it called the Cherokees one of the five “civilized tribes”?

3. Explain why some of the Cherokee wanted to sign the treaty and move to Oklahoma.

4. Once the Cherokee arrived in Oklahoma, why do you think they suffered internal turmoil?

Read, Trail of Tears: The Cherokee Are Forced West and complete questions 1-4

Watch Short Video Clip

• Video on Andrew Jackson’s Controversial Decisions

• Indian Removal Act and South Carolina Nullification

• Answer Questions as best you can, using your prior knowledge, readings, notes and the video

Ross

Jackson

- John C. Calhoun

“One of the greatest evils to which they (Indians) are subject is the incessant (constant) pressure of our population.”

1) According to John C. Calhoun, why is the US government forcing the Native Americans to move off of their homelands?

2) What is wrong with this statement?

Cherokee Indians

• Lived peacefully in the Appalachian Mountains of Georgia and Tennessee

• Adopted culture of whites - wrote and spoke English

• Had own written language and newspaper

• Based their government on the U.S. Constitution

Cherokee Sue For Land

• Cherokee sued the government of Georgia for taking their land

• Worcester vs. Georgia - Supreme Court rules Georgia’s actions are illegal and that the Cherokee can stay

President Andrew Jackson

“Chief Justice John Marshall has made his decision. Now let him enforce it.”

1) What is the job of the Supreme Court?

2) What is the job of the President?

3) What should happen if a government official refuses to do his job?

• US troops move 18,000 Cherokee at gunpoint 800 miles from 1838-1839

• 25% of Cherokee died - most elderly and children

U.S. troops force Cherokee west at gunpoint

Summary• Reflection: Journal Writing• Imagine you are a Native American on the

Trail of Tears. Write a 1-2 paragraph journal entry describing how you feel about the removal and describing your experiences during your journey.

• Be sure to include the name of your tribe, where your native lands are, and where you are being relocated to.

Class work

• Working in groups of 3, read Documents 1-3

• Read Question FIRST

• Answer questions in complete sentences.

• Student A: Read Document

• Student B: Answer Questions as partner is reading

• Take turns switching roles for each document : Student AB