Although I had heard of the Trail of Tears, until recently I had never read the whole story and account of what happened to the "Five Civilized Tribes" during the 1800's.  As I read about this horrific part of American history I could not stop myself from comparing the atrocities done to the Indian Nations with the holocaust of the Jews during World War II.  In my mind President Andrew Jackson was no better than Adolf Hitler and the deaths of the Indians on this forced march are every bit as horrific as the deaths of the Jews in the gas chambers.   We know about and remember the Holocaust, now let us learn about and remember the Trail of Tears...its long past due.

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The Trail of Tears

Some felt that it would be best that the Indians be absorbed by white culture. Failing that, they would have to be removed and relocated on the other side of the Mississippi River. It was hoped that this could be done peacefully by some, others could care less, as long as they were gone. But it was clear that the United States did not respect the land claims of the natives. John Quincy Adams spoke for the country when he said, "What is the right of a huntsmen to the forest of a thousand miles over which he has accidentally ranged in search of prey."

On May 28, 1830, President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian removal act. One of the act's chief targets were what were called the "Five Civilized Tribes." The Choctaw were the first to be removed. Chickasaw followed them. The Cherokee lived on
40,000 acres of land that were the envy of the land grabbers. The Cherokee were a remarkable culture that had a written language, schools for their children, their own newspaper, and a system of government. None of this mattered to those who eyed the land. The Georgian's denied them due process of law and when they resisted the Cherokee were captured, beaten and sometimes killed. It did not make any difference that the Cherokee were peaceful and prosperous. The white man wanted his land. The Cherokee appealed all the way to the Supreme Court and won their case. This still did not matter to President Jackson. "Judge Marshall has made his decision, let him enforce it," said Jackson.

The Cherokee tribe became divided between those who felt it was in their best interest to leave and those who were prepared to stay. President Jackson declared that the Cherokee Nation ceased to exist and troops were sent to drive them from their homeland. It was clearly a case of ethnic cleansing. So 15,000 Cherokee were rounded up and put into stockades, or concentration camps, and then driven West. The unsanitary conditions bred numerous diseases so when the Cherokee set out for the West, they were sick already. The march itself was awful as rain and then the cold made more of them ill. One private wrote, "I saw them loaded like cattle or sheep into six hundred and forty-six wagons and started towards the West. It was a 1,200-mile journey to what we call Oklahoma and the cold rain of autumn took their toll on the Cherokee. Many became ill and over 4,000 died along the way. The forced march of the Cherokee was an act of cruelty and greed. The Cherokee created a new civilization in Oklahoma but never forgot about the death march.

The Cherokee were no threat to the people of Georgia but the land speculators wanted their wealth. The President of the United States, a man many historians admire, was little more than a war criminal. The "Trail of Tears" ranks with the saddest episodes in American History and until the Cherokee are repaid for their suffering and theft, there is no justice.

Written By Denis Mueller

Sources: Howard Zinn, A People's History of the United States
Geoffrey Ward, The West: An Illustrated History