Indian Removal and the Trail
of Tears
Black Hawk War
• 1827 - US gov’t says all
Native Americans must leave
Illinois
• Chief Black Hawk of the
Sauk refuses, saying no one
can own land
• US settlers moved into
village when they were away
hunting
• After Sauk attacks, US troops
drive out Indians
Indian Removal Act
• 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
“One of the greatest evils to which they
(Indians) are subject is the incessant
(constant) pressure of our population.”
John C. Calhoun
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
“Chief Justice John Marshall has
made his decision. Now let him
enforce it.”
President Andrew Jackson
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?
Trail of Tears
• Georgia gov’t smashes
in Cherokee printing
press
• US troops move 18,000
Cherokee at gunpoint
800 miles from 18381839
• 25% of Cherokee died most elderly and
children
How does this portrayal of the Trail of Tears reflect continuity and
change in 19th-century American life?
Trail of Tears Assignment
• Write a three entry diary about your experiences
on the Trail of Tears and how your life was/will
be affected by the move from Georgia to
Oklahoma.
• Entry One - Before you leave (court case)
• Entry Two - On the Trail (struggles during the
trip)
• Entry Three - When you arrive in Indian Territory
(how life has changed)
• Detail earns points - cover emotion, fears, pain,
successes with colorful adjectives and adverbs
• Due next class