Dbq Trail Of Tears Analysis

Trail of Tears DBQ The Cherokee Native Americans had to move to the west of the Mississippi River from where ever they were. They had to move from their original homes because they were “in the way” of the growing states. Document H2 is a graphic of where the Native Americans started and trail they took to Oklahoma. All of the Native American tribes were originally in one of the growing states. It was a problem for them to be in the states because they were not under the United States leadership, they were not officially apart of the United States, and they were in the way. They were relocated because they could not be civilized Americans, according to Andrew Jackson. He said, “My friends, circumstances render it impossible that you can
To begin President Monroe said, “...provisions against the dangers to which they are exposed, under causes which it will be difficult, if not impossible to control, their degradation and extermination will be inevitable”(Document G). Monroe knows that the removal of the Native Americans will be absolutely horrendous and unforgiving processes, but Jackson did it anyway. Private John Burnett said, “I saw helpless Cherokees arrested and dragged from their homes, and driven at the bayonet point into the stockade”(Document C). The Cherokees were surprised. They had no warning and were violently taken from their homes then dragged to a new land by force. An observer documented that a respected chief named Snake led the way to the new land riding his favorite Pony(Document F). Even the leaders could do anything about the removal. In 1942 Robert Lund painted a painting called the Trail of Tears. The painting is a grim image of the harsh conditions the Native Americans were traveling in. The picture shows the somber expressions of the Native Americans and the conditions they were traveling in. Aitooweyah said in the same letter to John Ross, “We will never let our hold to this land go...to let it go it will be like throwing [it] away...(Document B)” Most of the Cherokee had the same opinion, so as they were leaving their precious land they were thinking they were throwing it away. James Monney interviewed survivors of the Trial of Tears. He wrote, “Families at dinner were startled by the sudden gleam of bayonets in the doorway...Men were seized in their fields or going along the road, women were ten from their spinning wheels and children from their play.(Document E)” The Native Americans were in shock about the entire move. This affected their mood as they walked. All of their possessions were stolen or burned. They had no time to pack or prepare. As they trudged along the trail the were upset, sad and felt