The Declaration of Sovereignty
The Declaration of Independence states that “All men are created equal.” But if “we hold these truths to be self evident” why in the 1830’s did the Trail of Tears occur? The Trail affected the five civilized tribes (Creek, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Cherokee and Seminole). The Trail of Tears was unfair to Native Americans because they were, and still are, a civilized nation and the least we can do is repay them for the pain and suffering our nation put them through.
To start off it all began with a general population increase. The population of Georgia grew to be six times as big between 1710 and 1830 (”North Georgia” 1). Due to the increase in population, the government wanted land currently owned by Native Americans, to hold the booming population. This resulted in the passing of the Indian Removal Act on May 28, 1830 (”Removal” 1). The plan of this bill was to remove natives from their homes in the east and place them west of the Mississippi river in what is now Oklahoma. Which at that time was unsettled (”Removal” 1-2). President Andrew Jackson strongly supported the act (”Removal” 1). The act passed the senate on a vote of 28 to 16. It slipped pass the house on a vote of 102 to 97 (”Removal” 2).
The Cherokees were not barbaric. They adapted many European customs such as women wearing gowns, building schools, churches and streets. They even had their own alphabet and used a representational government. Not to mention, they were farmers and cattle ranchers “North Georgia” 1). All these facts show how civilized the Cherokee Indians were. Which is important when considering what they went through because of our government.
The Cherokees did fight the Removal Act but not with arrows and spears. They sued using the Judicial court system. In an article on North Georgia it states “At first the court seemed to rule against the Indians.” In 1832 the Cherokee Indians finally won Worcester v. Georgia because Chief Justice... [continues]
The Declaration of Independence states that “All men are created equal.” But if “we hold these truths to be self evident” why in the 1830’s did the Trail of Tears occur? The Trail affected the five civilized tribes (Creek, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Cherokee and Seminole). The Trail of Tears was unfair to Native Americans because they were, and still are, a civilized nation and the least we can do is repay them for the pain and suffering our nation put them through.
To start off it all began with a general population increase. The population of Georgia grew to be six times as big between 1710 and 1830 (”North Georgia” 1). Due to the increase in population, the government wanted land currently owned by Native Americans, to hold the booming population. This resulted in the passing of the Indian Removal Act on May 28, 1830 (”Removal” 1). The plan of this bill was to remove natives from their homes in the east and place them west of the Mississippi river in what is now Oklahoma. Which at that time was unsettled (”Removal” 1-2). President Andrew Jackson strongly supported the act (”Removal” 1). The act passed the senate on a vote of 28 to 16. It slipped pass the house on a vote of 102 to 97 (”Removal” 2).
The Cherokees were not barbaric. They adapted many European customs such as women wearing gowns, building schools, churches and streets. They even had their own alphabet and used a representational government. Not to mention, they were farmers and cattle ranchers “North Georgia” 1). All these facts show how civilized the Cherokee Indians were. Which is important when considering what they went through because of our government.
The Cherokees did fight the Removal Act but not with arrows and spears. They sued using the Judicial court system. In an article on North Georgia it states “At first the court seemed to rule against the Indians.” In 1832 the Cherokee Indians finally won Worcester v. Georgia because Chief Justice... [continues]
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