Many have addressed the event known as the "Trail of Tears." In the readings in The Social Fabric and "The Cherokee Removal Through the Eyes of a Private Soldier," both share the common theme about one of American history's saddest chapters. Specifically, the mistreatment of American Indians. However, all the blame cannot be solely directed toward the United States government or its citizens.
History has revealed many events where a particular race has been the subject of conquest by a superior race. The use of the word "race" is a sensitive term in which many choose to ignore, but others realize as a reality. One can make a connection to Charles Darwin's theory which suggests the notion of the natural process among living forms where the superior species clearly dominates the lesser. As far as humankind is concerned, many have been subjected to this "inferior" status; the slaves during the age of Antiquity, the peasants of Europe, black slaves from Africa, Indians of Colonial Mexico and South America, and the American Indians of North America all have been in this category. One argument could be that these events in history were the way they were supposed to occur, another argument, from the modern perspective, is that these moments in history are only representative of the imperfect side of humankind. Whatever the case, events such as the Trail of Tears have plagued humanity since the beginning of time. For Americans, this is an unpleasant lesson many choose to forget.
One must understand the context and imagine the era in which this occurred. The country was in the midst of expansion, and the continent, west of the thirteen original colonies, was considered open territory for all to take advantage of. In the Social Fabric, there was more of an historical account defining the reasons for the mass migration of the Cherokees. To put it simply, the Cherokees were removed as a consequence for what their land possessed, which, was vital to the growing America, i.e. land resources, gold, etc. This was not uncommon in the 19th century because most of westward expansion meant the displacement of American Indians.
In Burnett's narrative, he offers an explanation from the perspective of one who had first hand experience, and one who had difficulty accepting the inhumane treatment of the "civilized" Cherokee tribe. His sentiments paralleled that of a select few at the time, but did not sway the American conscience to the point which would have changed the sequence of events. It is only now that the true horror is emotionally felt by this generation about this event. Much has already been written about this sad aspect of history, but to look at it another way, what the American mind set during Manifest Destiny can really be no different than American imperialism and territorialism all over the world. Many of those who are subjected to this resent the United States for its mere presence in their affairs. Perhaps in the time to come, historians and students in the future will examine the events of today and draw their own conclusions. The Cherokee Indians have suffered a great wrong, as did many other American Indians in the 19th century, but on the whole, so did many other "inferior" peoples over the course of history. This, in and of itself, a reality that appears to be constant.
