341

1830Congress passes theIndian Removal Act

1832Black Hawk leads Saukand Fox people to Illinois

1835Seminole refuse toleave Florida

1838Cherokee driven fromtheir homelands on theTrail of Tears

Main IdeaAs more white settlers moved into theSoutheast, conflict arose between theNative Americans who lived there andthe United States government.

Key Termsrelocate, guerrilla tactics

Reading StrategyAs you read Section 2, create a chartlike the one below that describes whathappened to each group of NativeAmericans as the United Statesexpanded.

Read to Learn• how Native American peoples were

forced off their lands in the South-east.

• how President Jackson defied theSupreme Court.

Section ThemeGroups and Institutions In the1830s many Native American peopleswere forced to relocate.

Conflicts Over Land

CHAPTER 11 The Jackson Era

The Cherokee held their land long before European settlers arrived. Through treatieswith the United States government, the Cherokee became a sovereign nation withinGeorgia. By the early 1800s the Cherokee had their own schools, their own newspaper,and their own written constitution. Sequoya’s invention of a Cherokee alphabet enabledmany of the Cherokee to read and write in their own language. The Cherokee farmedsome of Georgia’s richest land, and in 1829 gold was discovered there. Settlers, miners,and land speculators began trespassing on Cherokee territory in pursuit of riches.

Moving Native AmericansWhile the United States had expanded westward by the 1830s, large numbers

of Native Americans still lived in the eastern part of the country. In Georgia,Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida lived the “Five Civilized Tribes”—the Cherokee, Creek, Seminole, Chickasaw, and Choctaw. The tribes had estab-lished farming societies with successful economies.

Description

Cherokee

Sauk/Fox

SeminolePreview of Events

Guide to Reading

✦ 1830 ✦ 1833 ✦ 1836 ✦ 1839

Sequoya

INDIANTERR.

MO.

ARK. TERR.

MISS.

LA.

ALABAMA

FLORIDATERR.

GEORGIA

TENN.

KENTUCKY

ILL.

WISCONSINTERR.

MICH.

IND.

OHIO

S.C.

N.C.

VA.

PA.

N.Y.

ME.

VT.N.H.

MASS.

R.I.

N.J.

DEL.

MD.

CONN.

Fox

Sauk

Red R.

Missouri

R.

Mississippi R

.

Ohio R.

LakeSuperior

Lak

eM

ichi

gan

Lake Huron

Lake E

rie

LakeOntar

io

Gulf ofMexico

ATLaNTICOCEaN

40°N

30°N

70°W80°W90°W

New Orleans

Vicksburg

MemphisFt. CoffeeFt. Gibson

Ft. Smith

11

22

33

Albers Conic Equal-Area projection

300 kilometers0

300 miles0

N

S

EW

Between 1830 and 1840, the U.S. government moved about60,000 Native Americans to reservations.1. Movement What group was forced to move farthest

from its homeland?2. Analyzing Information Which groups were forced to

move from Mississippi?

Because the area west of the Mississippi wasdry and seemed unsuitable for farming, fewwhite Americans lived there. Many settlerswanted the federal government to relocateNative Americans living in the Southeast. Theyproposed to force the Native Americans toleave their land and move west of the Missis-sippi River. President Andrew Jackson, a manof the frontier himself, supported the settlers’demand for Native American land.

Indian Removal ActCongress responded by passing the Indian

Removal Act in 1830. The act allowed the fed-eral government to pay Native Americans tomove west. Jackson then sent officials to negoti-ate treaties with Native Americans of the South-east. Most felt compelled to accept payment fortheir lands. In 1834 Congress created the IndianTerritory, an area in present-day Oklahoma, forNative Americans from the Southeast.

Chief Black Hawk led Native Americans back to Illinois in 1832, but they were driven away.

The Cherokee took their refusal to move tothe Supreme Court – and won. Federaltroops forced them to leave anyway.

Chief Osceola led the Seminole in rebellion.

11

22

33

Ceded by Native AmericansCeded to Native AmericansCommon Removal RouteCherokee Removal RouteChickasaw Removal RouteChoctaw Removal RouteCreek Removal RouteSeminole Removal RouteFortBorders as of 1840

Removal of Native Americans, 1820–1840

30°N

80°W

LakeOkeechobee

Dade Massacre1835

Ft. King

Ft. Dade

N

S

EW

100 kilometers0

100 miles0

Albers Conic Equal-Area projection

Seminole area, 1740–1822Seminole area, 1822–1842Seminole Reservation,1823–1832Fort

Battle

The Cherokee NationThe Cherokee Nation, however, refused to

give up its land. In treaties of the 1790s, the fed-eral government had recognized the Cherokeepeople in the state of Georgia as a separatenation with their own laws. Georgia, however,refused to recognize Cherokee laws.

The Cherokee sued the state government andeventually took their case to the Supreme Court.In Worcester v. Georgia (1832), Chief Justice JohnMarshall ruled that Georgia had no right tointerfere with the Cherokee. Only the federalgovernment had authority over matters involv-ing the Cherokee. ; (See page 1000 of the Appendix for asummary of Worcester v. Georgia.)

President Jackson had supported Georgia’sefforts to remove the Cherokee. He vowed toignore the Supreme Court’s ruling. “John Mar-shall has made his decision,” Jackson reportedlysaid. “Now let him enforce it.”

The Trail of TearsIn 1835 the federal government persuaded a

few Cherokee to sign a treaty giving up theirpeople’s land. Yet most of the 17,000 Cherokeerefused to honor the treaty. They wrote a protestletter to the government and people of theUnited States.

“We are aware that some persons suppose itwill be for our advantage to [re]move beyondthe Mississippi. . . . Our people universally thinkotherwise. . . . We wish to remain on the land ofour fathers.”

The Cherokee plea for understanding didnot soften the resolve of President Jackson orthe white settlers of the area. In 1838 GeneralWinfield Scott and an army of 7,000 federaltroops came to remove the Cherokee from theirhomes and lead them west. ; (See page 988 of theAppendix for additional text of the Cherokee protest.)

Scott threatened to use force if the Cherokeedid not leave. He told them he had positionedtroops all around the country so that resistanceand escape were both hopeless. “Chiefs, headmen, and warriors—Will you then, by resist-ance, compel us to resort to arms?” The Chero-kee knew that fighting would only lead to theirdestruction. Filled with sadness and anger, theirleaders gave in, and the long march to the Westbegan. One man in Kentucky wrote of seeinghundreds of Cherokee marching by:

Trail of Tears by Robert Lindneux NativeAmericans who were forced from their landtraveled west in the 1830s. Why was theforced march called the “Trail of Tears”?

History Through Art

343CHAPTER 11 The Jackson Era

Osceola was born in1804. His ancestors wereCreek, African American,British, Irish, and Scot-tish. After President Jack-son signed the IndianRemoval Act in 1830,Osceola became theleader of the Seminolesand led successful

attacks on United Statesforts. Hiding in theswampy lands of theEverglades, the Semi-noles grew tired, sick,and hungry. Osceolaattempted to surrenderbut was captured. He andhis family were impris-oned at Fort Moultrie,

South Carolina, where hedied of a throat infectionin 1838. Although he hadwaged a war against theUnited States, the publicconsidered Osceola anhonorable hero and a vic-tim of trickery, and hewas given a funeral withfull military honors.

“Even [the] aged . . . nearly ready to drop inthe grave, were traveling with heavy burdensattached to their backs, sometimes on frozenground and sometimes on muddy streets, withno covering for their feet.”

Brutal weather along the way claimed thou-sands of Cherokee lives. Their forced journeywest became known to the Cherokee people asthe Trail Where They Cried. Historians call it theTrail of Tears.

Explaining What was the purposeof the Indian Removal Act?

Native American ResistanceIn 1832 the Sauk chieftain, Black Hawk, led

a force of Sauk and Fox people back to Illinois,their homeland. They wanted to recapture thisarea, which had been given up in a treaty. TheIllinois state militia and federal troopsresponded with force, gathering nearly 4,500soldiers. They chased the Fox and Sauk to theMississippi River and slaughtered most of theNative Americans as they tried to flee west-ward into present-day Iowa.

The Seminole peopleof Florida were the onlyNative Americans whosuccessfully resistedtheir removal. Althoughthey were pressured inthe early 1830s to signtreaties giving up theirland, the Seminole chief,Osceola, and some of his people refused to leaveFlorida. The Seminole decided to go to waragainst the United States instead.

In 1835 the Seminole joined forces with a groupof African Americans who had run away toescape slavery. Together they attacked white settlements along the Florida coast. They usedguerrilla tactics, making surprise attacks andthen retreating back into the forests and swamps.In December 1835, Seminole ambushed soldiersunder the command of Major Francis Dade. Onlya few of the 110 soldiers survived the attack. TheDade Massacre pressured the call for more troopsand equipment to fight the Seminole.

By 1842 more than 1,500 American soldiershad died in the Seminole wars. The governmentgave up and allowed some of the Seminole toremain in Florida. Many Seminole, however,

CHAPTER 11 The Jackson Era344

HISTORY

Student Web ActivityVisit taj.glencoe.com andclick on Chapter 11—Student Web Activitiesfor an activity on the Trailof Tears.

http://taj.glencoe.com

had died in the long war, and many more werecaptured and forced to move westward. After1842 only a few scattered groups of NativeAmericans lived east of the Mississippi. Mosthad been removed to the West. Native Ameri-cans had given up more than 100 million acresof eastern land to the federal government. Theyhad received in return about $68 million and 32million acres in lands west of the MississippiRiver. There they lived, divided by tribes, inreservations. Eventually, these reservations, too,would face intrusion from white civilization.

The area of present-day Oklahoma became partof the United States in 1803 with the LouisianaPurchase. The United States set aside this area asthe home for various Native American groups.

The Five Civilized Tribes were relocated inthe eastern half of present-day Oklahoma onlands claimed by several Plains groups, includ-ing the Osage, Comanche, and Kiowa. UnitedStates Army leaders got agreements from thePlains groups to let the Five Civilized Tribeslive in peace. Settled in their new homes, theFive Tribes developed their governments,improved their farms, and built schools. TheFive Tribes also developed a police force calledthe Lighthorsemen. This law enforcement unitmaintained safety for the region.

Comparing How was the responseof the Seminoles different from that of the Cherokee whenthey were removed from their lands?

Checking for Understanding1. Key Terms Use the terms relocate

and guerrilla tactics in complete sentences that will explain theirmeanings.

2. Analyzing Analyze how PresidentJackson reacted to the SupremeCourt decision supporting the Chero-kees’ rights.

Reviewing Themes3. Groups and Institutions How

were the Seminole able to resist relocation?

Critical Thinking4. Drawing Conclusions How was

Georgia’s policy toward the Cherokeedifferent from the previous federalpolicy?

5. Organizing Information Re-createthe diagram below to show how theCherokee were eventually removedfrom their land.

Analyzing Visuals6. Geography Skills Study the maps

on page 342. Which groups of NativeAmericans were located in Alabama?What does the inset map show? Inwhat area of Florida was the Semi-nole reservation?

CHAPTER 11 The Jackson Era 345

Persuasive Writing Write a letterto Andrew Jackson telling him whythe Native Americans should orshould not be allowed to stay intheir homelands.

“We told them to letus alone and keepaway from us; butthey followed on.”

—Black Hawk, Sauk leader (far right),pictured here with his son,

Whirling Thunder

1835treatywithCherokee

346 CHAPTER 11 The Jackson Era

LewisburgFort Coffee

Fort Gibson

Decatur

Hopkinsville

Memphis

Tahlequah

Tulsa

FortSmith

FayettevilleStilwell

Springfield

Nashville

Little Rock

ALABAMA

MISSISSIPPI

TENNESSEE

ARKANSAS

OKLAHOMA

ILLINOIS

MISSOURI

O z ar k

Pl

at

ea

uCherokee Nation Territory prior to

Oklahoma statehood

Cherokee Outlet

OhioRiver

Mis

siss

ippi

Rive

rArkansas River

N

S

W E

&GEOGRAPHY HISTORY

Cherokee

CreekChoctaw

Seminole

IndianTerritory

Chickasaw

ATLANTICOCEAN

Gulf of Mexico

0 300 miles

0 300 kilometers

Removal and Relocation

0 50 miles

0 50 kilometers

Cherokee Trail of Tears(East to West)

September 28, 1838–January 17, 1839

October 11, 1838–January 7, 1839

October 23, 1838–March 24, 1839

June 6–19, 1838

Historic site

John Ross (left), the principal chief of the Cherokee, opposed the removal of hispeople. Rebecca Neugin (right) was one of the Cherokee forced to march west to Oklahoma. In this 1931 photograph, Neugin is 96 years old.

The Cherokee supple-mented their meager dietwith ground acorns andother foods they foundalong the route.

CHAPTER 11 The Jackson Era

1. To what present-day state were the Five CivilizedTribes forced to move?

2. Through what cities did the Cherokee travel duringthe removal that began on June 6, 1838?

L E A R N I N G f r o m G E O G R A P H Y

TRAIL OF TEARSLONG BEFORE EUROPEAN EXPLORERS ARRIVED,the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole were living in eastern North America. TheNative Americans built permanent communities,practiced agriculture, and developed complex tribalgovernments—thereby earning the name of Five Civilized Tribes.

REMOVAL

As white settlers moved into the southeastern states,they began demanding the land held by Native Americans.In 1830, Congress passed the Indian Removal Act to movethe Five Civilized Tribes west of the Mississippi. Underpressure, the Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Creek moved westwhile the Cherokee and the Seminole resisted.

RESISTANCE

Despite protests from the Cherokee people, they wereforced to march west. In 1838, 13 ragged groups trekked toFort Gibson in the newly created Indian Territory (seemaps). Along the journey, which became known as the“Trail of Tears,” 4,000 Cherokee died of cold, hunger, ordisease.

Some of the Seminole refused to abandon their home-land and waged a guerrilla war in the Florida Evergladesuntil the government gave up its efforts to resettle them in 1842.

Fort Cass

New Echota

Chattanooga

Fort Payne

Cherokee

Atlanta

SOUTH CAROLINA

NORTH CAROLINA

KENTUCKY

GEORGIA

AP P

AL A

C HI A

NM

O UN T

A IN S

Most Cherokee farmers lived in log cabins.

Choctaw

Creek

Chickasaw

Cherokee

Seminole

Number of people

Forced Migration, 1830–1840

0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000

347