On September 15, 1830 the leaders of the Cherokee nation met with U.S. representatives to discuss a bill that was just passed by Congress. This bill allowed the Indians to be removed to the west side of the Mississippi River.
The Cherokee were now made very aware that Washington did not care for their situation. Either they move peacefully to where the whites want them to go, or be moved by military force. The Cherokee were very intelligent individuals who worked as industrious farmers, merchants, and many types of businessmen. They had a well-established government with a code of law. Many of them were even practicing Christians. Some of the people in the tribe were not even Indians, they were strangers that had been accumulated over the years.
Realizing that they had no option, the Cherokee signed the treaty. In the treaty, the government guaranteed a safe journey to their new homes. It also included provisions that were meant to give many people a new start. Half of the Cherokee were forced out of their land almost immediately. The others would be moved the following year. The so-called "safe journey" ended up to be a dreadful march at gunpoint from U.S. military forces. The pace they were moving at killed many of the elders. Rotten beef and vegetables killed many as well. Many of them walked the entire distance with no shoes and barely any clothing. The whites leading the march rejected the supplies that were given to the Choctaw by the government. This was not Andrew Jackson's, the president, or the government's fault, their fault lies in the fact that they did nothing to be watchful of those in charge. Many of the children and elders died on the road. They were buried at each allowed stop. After this went on for a while many of the Indians began to take refuge in the hills and swamps, and many other places.
This experience of the Cherokees was almost the exact same thing that all the other tribes went through: such as the Choctaw, Seminoles, and Kickapoo. The fertile lands alive with game that were promised to the Indians ended up being bone-dry. The summers were unbearably hot and the winters were freezing in Arkansas where they were sent. The treaties meant nothing to the common white man. Many of them settled on Indian territory ignoring the treaties.
The government moved many of the young children into boarding schools where they were brought up in a civilized manner. This meant that were taught English and were forbidden to worship their pagan gods. To this day many Indians are not fluent in their native language.
The Indian's last blow came when the whites came in and took almost all the land they had because of gold that was found in the area.
This event shows the cruelty and selfishness that the U.S. will go through to make that extra dollar.
