Trail Of Tears

Many people have different opinions on the Trail of Tears. This is mine. I don't think that the trail of tears was fair for the Indians. The Indians were on the land before the settlers. When the settlers first arrived in 1733, the Indians welcomed the settlers warmly. The Indians even gave them some of their land to live on.

The Cherokee Indians wanted to be like the white settlers. The white settlers considered them to be the most advanced of the Indian tribes. A major contribution to that was when Sequoyah made the first Indian syllabary. Another contribution was when Elias Boudinot created the first Indian newspaper in 1828. It was written in both Cherokee and English.

In 1825 the Cherokee established a permanent capital at New Echota. New Echota was like many other cities. It was a thriving and bustling community. The Cherokee even adopted a constitution similar to that of the U.S. The Cherokee learned English, used tools, attended schools, and became farmers.

One day in 1829, gold was discovered in Dahlonega, Georgia. In several months gold fever swept North Georgia. Over 10 thousand miners moved onto the Cherokee land. The Georgia Legislature passed laws that placed the Cherokee under state laws and the Cherokee lost the right to mine gold. While this happened the Cherokee lost their homes, land, and all legal rights.

In December of 1835, the Cherokee signed a treaty giving up all the land they had left in the southeast and move west. By May of 1838, two thousand Cherokee had left Georgia. They left behind about fifteen thousand others. During the summer of 1838, the army forced several thousand into dirty overcrowded boats and sent them to their new homes in the Oklahoma Territory. By the time they arrived, nearly one-third of the group had died. The rest of the Cherokee that were left began the 800 mile walk to the Indian Territory. The white settlers did all of this for a piece