The Indian Removal and the Trail of Tears

President Jackson did not stop Georgia from taking Cherokee land. By 1835, most of the Cherokee were homeless. A small group of Cherokee made a deal with the United States government called the Treaty of New

Echota.

They agreed to sell the Cherokee Nation's land in exchange for money and land in the West. They did not have the permission of the Cherokee Nation government to make this deal.

The passages below show what two Cherokee leaders thought about the treaty. Read the passages. Then follow the instructions below.

Adapted letter from Chief John Ross to Congress, 1836[The treaty] has taken away our freedom and our ability to legally defend ourselves. Our property can be stolen from us before our eyes, violence can be committed against us, and we can be killed. . . . Our people did not agree to [this treaty].

Adapted letter from Elias Boudinot to John Ross, 1837[The treaty] is the only practical solution. . . . If we stay in Georgia, you would tie our people down in the chains of slavery.

Match the name of the Cherokee leader to what he believed about the Treaty of New Echota.

• Chief John Ross believed the treaty was a practical solution
• Elias Boudinot believed the treaty took away freedom and ability to defend themselves
• Chief John Ross believed the treaty avoided slavery in Georgia
• Chief John Ross: The treaty took away freedom and ability to defend themselves. Elias Boudinot: The treaty was the only practical solution to avoid slavery in Georgia.

The U.S. government accepted the Treaty of New Echota, even though it had been made illegally by only a small group of the Cherokee. The treaty gave the Cherokee two years to leave their land. When the two years had passed, the remaining Cherokee were rounded up and imprisoned under terrible, deadly conditions.

In the adapted passage below, a Cherokee woman describes how her family was forced from its home. Read the passage. Then complete the sentence below.

The [U.S.] soldiers came and took us from our home. They . . . drove us out of doors and did not permit us to take anything with us . . . and they shut the doors after they turned us out.

Based on the passage, complete the sentence.

According to the passage,



came and removed the Cherokee from their land.

Cherokee leaders

other Native American groups

missionaries

soldiers

Save answer

• Cherokee leaders
• missionaries
• other Native American groups
• soldiers

John Ross and other Cherokee leaders saw that Cherokee people were suffering and dying while imprisoned by the U.S. government. They led the remaining Cherokee people to the Indian Territory set aside by the U.S. government.

Historians believe that more than 4,000 Cherokee men, women, and children died along the journey west. In the passage below, a Cherokee woman describes her experience of the Trail of Tears when she was a very young child. Read the passage. Then answer the question below.

Rebecca Neugin describing the Trail of Tears, 1932

Eight of my brothers and sisters and two or three widow women and children rode [on horses] with us. . . . My father and mother walked all the way also. . . . There was much sickness among the emigrants and a great many little children died.

emigrants

:

people who leave their country for another

Based on the passage, what was Trail of Tears like for Cherokee people? Select the three statements that apply.

• Cherokee people enjoyed the Trail of Tears experience.
• The Trail of Tears for Cherokee people was marked by suffering, death, and sickness.
• The Trail of Tears was a peaceful journey for Cherokee people.
• Cherokee people faced no hardships during the Trail of Tears.

Today, most of the tribes that were removed to Indian Territory are now located in the state of

Oklahoma.

More than 38 Native American nations are based there, including the modern Choctaw, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Muscogee, and Seminole Nations.

In 1985, the Cherokee Nation elected its first woman to lead the Nation, Principal Chief Wilma Mankiller. Her great-grandfather survived the Trail of Tears. Read what she said about remembering the Trail of Tears. Then follow the instructions below.

• Oklahoma
• New Mexico
• Arizona
• Texas

Match the followingPresident Jackson did not stop Georgia from taking Cherokee land. By 1835, most of the Cherokee were homeless. A small group of Cherokee made a deal with the United States government called the Treaty of New

Echota.

They agreed to sell the Cherokee Nation's land in exchange for money and land in the West. They did not have the permission of the Cherokee Nation government to make this deal.

The passages below show what two Cherokee leaders thought about the treaty. Read the passages. Then follow the instructions below.

Adapted letter from Chief John Ross to Congress, 1836[The treaty] has taken away our freedom and our ability to legally defend ourselves. Our property can be stolen from us before our eyes, violence can be committed against us, and we can be killed. . . . Our people did not agree to [this treaty].

Adapted letter from Elias Boudinot to John Ross, 1837[The treaty] is the only practical solution. . . . If we stay in Georgia, you would tie our people down in the chains of slavery.

Match the name of the Cherokee leader to what he believed about the Treaty of New Echota.

• Elias Boudinot

• John Ross

• Sequoyah

• Nancy Ward

• Wilma Mankiller

The U.S. government accepted the Treaty of New Echota, even though it had been made illegally by only a small group of the Cherokee. The treaty gave the Cherokee two years to leave their land. When the two years had passed, the remaining Cherokee were rounded up and imprisoned under terrible, deadly conditions.

In the adapted passage below, a Cherokee woman describes how her family was forced from its home. Read the passage. Then complete the sentence below.

The [U.S.] soldiers came and took us from our home. They . . . drove us out of doors and did not permit us to take anything with us . . . and they shut the doors after they turned us out.

Based on the passage, complete the sentence.

According to the passage,



came and removed the Cherokee from their land.

Cherokee leaders

soldiers

other Native American groups

missionaries

Save answer

According to the passage, (a)   came and removed the Cherokee from their land

John Ross and other Cherokee leaders saw that Cherokee people were suffering and dying while imprisoned by the U.S. government. They led the remaining Cherokee people to the Indian Territory set aside by the U.S. government.

Historians believe that more than 4,000 Cherokee men, women, and children died along the journey west. In the passage below, a Cherokee woman describes her experience of the Trail of Tears when she was a very young child. Read the passage. Then answer the question below.

Rebecca Neugin describing the Trail of Tears, 1932

Eight of my brothers and sisters and two or three widow women and children rode [on horses] with us. . . . My father and mother walked all the way also. . . . There was much sickness among the emigrants and a great many little children died.

emigrants

:

people who leave their country for another

Based on the passage, what was Trail of Tears like for Cherokee people? Select the three statements that apply.

• The Trail of Tears was a devastating experience for Cherokee people.
• The Trail of Tears was a short and easy journey for Cherokee people.
• The Trail of Tears had no impact on Cherokee people.
• The Trail of Tears was a joyful experience for Cherokee people.

After the Treaty of New Echota, the Cherokee were forced to relocate. This journey is known as the Trail of Tears. What was the primary reason for this forced relocation?

• The discovery of gold on Cherokee land

• A desire to assimilate the Cherokee into American culture

• A treaty negotiation error by the Cherokee leaders

• The U.S. government's desire to expand its territory

Wilma Mankiller was a significant figure in Cherokee history. What groundbreaking role did she achieve in 1985 within the Cherokee Nation?

• She became the first female Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation

• She was the first Cherokee woman to serve in the U.S. Congress

• She founded the first school for Cherokee children in Oklahoma

• She negotiated a new treaty with the U.S. government

The Treaty of New Echota was controversial for several reasons. Which of the following statements best describes why many Cherokee opposed the Treaty of New Echota?

• It was signed without the approval of the majority of the Cherokee people

• It offered too much land to the Cherokee in the West

• It was signed by U.S. government officials, not Cherokee leaders

• It provided the Cherokee with ample compensation for their land