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Cherokee Trail Of Tears : Removal

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Cherokee Trail of Tears: Removal: 500 Nations
In 1830, congress passed President Andrew Jacksons Indian Removal Act. This policy allowed the United States government to extinguish the Cherokee, Chickasaws, Choctaws, Creeks, Seminole and many other tribes title to their land. The Indians had to leave the land and life they had always known in the Southeastern United States behind. This disturbing event was named the Trail of Tears because many Native Americans died during the process of marching to an area west of the Mississippi River due to disease, starvation, and the long journey.
This Indian Removal Act allowed state officials to override federal protection of Native Americans. The American settlers had wanted the land for white …show more content…

The Choctaw were the first to be evicted followed by the Seminoles in 1832, Creeks, and Chickasaw in 1837. The Cherokee removal in 1838 was brought on by the discovery of gold near Dahlonega, Georgia. This was the last forced removal east of the Mississippi and lead to the Georgia Gold Rush. The removal of the Indian tribes brought on many wars and battles. They fought for the land that had been passed down from generation to generation. Many solders did not even make it to the marches to reservations because they died in battle. These battles were gruesome and a lot of Native American tribes came together to fight against the American soldiers. Very few groups hid and were not found by the government. By 1837, 46,000 Indians from the southeastern states had been removed from their homelands. This gave white settlers close to 25 million acres of land.
Horses and guns played a significant role in the Native Americans lives. Before horses the Indians had to walk and run to hunt. They would follow the bison or other animal’s trails. With the use of horses the Native people could expand the distance traveled for hunting. Guns were a huge change for everyone as well. Before them the people had to be close to their enemy or hunt to kill. They would use axes, bow and arrow, or arrow heads attached to sticks. The new inventions did cause problems between nearby tribes but helped when fighting or escaping the American

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