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Annotated
Bibliography
Propaganda
Conclusion
Victims
Upstanders
Background
Info
Perprerators
The Trail of Tears
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Transcript

The Trail of Tears

Perprerators

BackgroundInfo

Upstanders

Victims

Conclusion

Propaganda

AnnotatedBibliography

This solution was to relocate the Native Americans to another part of the continent, which had never been done before. The US government was not prepared to handle this causing multiple Native people to suffer and die along the journey, paving the way for the infamous “Trail of Tears.” The trail that killed many of the Natives.

Then in 1829, there was a huge gold rush in Georgia, Cherokee land, causing an influx of American settlers. Due to the sheer amount of settlers and support to remove the Indians from their land, President Andrew Jackson came up with a “solution.”

In the early 1800s 5 native American tribes (the civilized tribes) occupied the area allotted to them by the British proclamation of 1763. Over time more and more American settlers started pouring into the place that was said to be the Native American's land. However, the US government did nothing about these so-called trespassers. .

The genocide of the Native Americans is one of the lesser-known genocides but that doesn’t stop it from being any less brutal than the others. One of the predominant events of this genocide is the Trail of Tears.

Background Info

At this time manifest destiny (westward expansion), was gaining more and more popularity adding fuel to the fire. Additionally, due to the gold rush in Georgia, he was even more obliged to do something about the issue of relocation.

One of the most notable leaders that supported the injustice was the 7th president of the US, Andrew Jackson. He thought that the Indians were an obstacle in the way of US development.

After organizing the relocation of the Indians, Jackson laid out a path. However, he did not provide the proper means of survival such as food. The Indians were starving and experiencing malnutrition, which was one of the main causes of death on the trail. All of this happened because of Jackson.

Perpetrators

In response to this, the military restored to force and completely eradicated their original plan of negotiation. This led to multiple battles such as the Black Hawk war. After a while more and more Indians were realizing that they couldn’t beat the US and that it would be better to keep their lives over their lands. The Indians had to abandon their homes and were forcibly complied.

Though there were many offenses of Indian rights in the past, the Indian Removal Act was the first major offense. This act allowed the president to allot land westward of what the Native Americans were occupying, and instead use that land for American settlers. Originally the US military was implored to negotiate for a price but the Indians did not comply. They argued that this land was theirs according to the British proclamation, and could not leave their ancestral land since it would go against their culture.

Victims

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One of the people who stood for Native American rights was Davy Crockett, a US Congressman for Andrew Jackson. Crockett was a leading opponent against the Indian Removal Act when debating the issue in congress. He called the act “opression with vengeance.” This defiant opinion ultimately led to him losing his seat in congress.

Another upstander was John Ross, the leader of “Cherokee Nation”(a political party). Ross was also part Native American and had grown up with their culture instilled in his mind. He was constantly trying to find ways to ensure the Native Americans would not have to renounce their land. This ranged from petitions, which President Jackson ignored, as well as organizing protests. Ross had created such a strong opposition that the congressmen had to go to levels of bribing him, but he declined them. Instead, he exposed them. However his and Crocketts remarkable efforts were not able to reach true value.

Upstanders

Propaganda

In the image there is a severed teepee to represent the Native Americans. Then there are what look to be spears piercing the teepee and the most prominent one has an American flag. Another important detail to note is how there is only one teepee left, implying that much of the original native population is gone. Then in the text at the bottom, there are the events in which the Natives were prosecuted. If this picture was to be seen from an American pov they would defend that they wanted what was best for their country and the Indians stood in their way. They would argue that conquering has been done so many times before and that this was nothing different. Since the American flag is piercing throught the teepee, it most likely has the implication that the Indians were betrayed. These people were allotted land by the proclamation of 1763, yet it was not their were pushed out of that land. In the process of pushing them out, they also wounded their culture, or in this case the teepee. The main message of the picture is that the Natives had a difficult journey, facing discrimination and broken promises. Despite all of this however, they will continue to thrive and patch up the wounds that they incurred.

Summary (Delete this after you write it):

After all of what happened, the injustice ended with the Native Americans simply giving up and surrendering to the demands of the US government. The injustice created an absence in both the culture and population of the Native Americans. They are no longer able to live in their ancestral lands anymore, instead living in reservations laid out by the US. The injustice that occurred has made them much more protective of what is left of their culture.

Those who are left the Native Americans are trying to fight for their rights through various court cases. For example, the Indian Child Welfare Act was put into practice forty years ago. It has caused the Native children who are in the foster care system to be placed in homes where they don’t learn about their culture. With the threat of losing their culture completely, this law serves no help to the Indians. The case has gone as far as the supreme court and is still yet to be decided. All in all, this understated genocide has had massive consequences which we are seeing even now, yet it has shaped the world we live in today.

Conclusion

Link to the Annotated Bibliography:

Annotated Bibliography

THE END

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