In 1838 and 1839, as part of Andrew Jackson's Indian removal policy, the Cherokee nation was forced to give up its lands east of the Mississippi River and to migrate to an area in present-day Oklahoma. The Cherokee people called this journey the 'Trail of Tears,' because of its devastating effects.

The Trail of Tears.

Cherokee Trail of TearsThe Trail of Tears By Randy GoldenExclusively forA journey west. To settlers it meant expandinghorizons. Dreams of riches and a new life. To the Cherokee Nationthe journey west was a bitter pill forced upon them by a state andfederal government that cared little for their culture or society,and even less about justice. It is a travesty and tragedy of bothour Georgia history and our American heritage that forced the Cherokeewest along a route they called '.'

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1835 was a pivotal year in Georgia history. Threeyears earlier, to solidify their claim to Cherokee land the stateof Georgia held two that divided the Cherokee Nation in 160 acre lotsand gave them to any Georgian who had four dollars in their pocketand won a chance to buy the land. Unfortunately, the Cherokee neverceded the land to either the state or federal government and theSupreme Court (in Worchester v. Georgia) ruled that statedid not have the power to make a treaty with a sovereign nation.represented the vast majority of the Cherokee and had theircomplete support. With settlers moving into the Cherokee NationRoss understood that making a deal for the land with the UnitedStates was his best option, since he was at risk of losing the entirenation to the state of Georgia. In early 1835 he and his group wantedto deed a portion of the land to the United States for an amountof money to be determined by Congress, with the rest of the propertydeeded to the Cherokee owners.

The sticking point on the Ross dealwas the requirement that the United States and the state of Georgiarecognize Cherokee citizenship, including the right to vote andhold political office. Neither Georgia nor the United States wouldnever agree to this.To compensate the Cherokee for their loss withoutretaining some land and living a normal life among the settlers,Ross came up with the figure of 20 million dollars, or about 25%of the value of the land if sold separately to each settler. Forthis amount 17,000 men, women and children would leave voluntarilyand relocate to the Indian Territory, now the state of Oklahoma.This comes to a payment of just under $1200 per person. This isroughly $4.34 per acre (the going rate for similar, nearby landsold in the state of Georgia in 1835 was between $18.00 an acreand $25.00 an acre.)Ross enjoyed the backing of the Cherokee Nation,and both the original proposal (4.5 million dollars, land and citizenship)and the second proposal (20 million dollars) had been approved bythe Cherokee council.

A small group of radicals led by John Ridgeand his cousin negotiated the corrupt Treaty of New Echota, givingup Cherokee lands for pennies on the dollar ($1.085 dollars peracre, or about 5% of the actual value of the land). This proposalhad not been approved by the Cherokee council, in fact it was specificallydeclined.On, 1835 the Ridge (or Treaty) Party members filed one by oneto sign the document that called his death warrant. The only hope now for the Cherokeewas with the government of the United States. Unfortunately, AndrewJackson's forces in the U.

Senate (which is required to ratifyall treaties) were too strong. The Treaty of New Echota was ratifiedthe next year.Wealthy Cherokee LeaveMajor Ridge led a group of Cherokee west in 1836,blazing the land route for future parties. He stopped at Nashvilleto visit his old friend, Andrew Jackson, now merely a citizen. Jacksonwarmly welcomed Ridge, with whom he met for nearly a day. This partycontained mostly mixed-blood Cherokee who had been successful inbusiness and could afford to move to present-day Oklahoma on theirown.

John Ridge stayed in Georgia, actually leading one of the finalparties west. Other wealthy Cherokee managed to get out to Oklahomain smaller groups or on their own, such as Joseph 'Rich Joe'Vann, who went west on his own steamship.The Cherokee Nation's last standCherokee hope did not fade. After the ratification,Ross attempted to petition the United States government to no avail.In May, 1838, the forcible eviction of the Cherokee Nation began.Government troops under the command of, at times supported by the brutal Georgia Guard, movedacross the state taking the helpless Cherokee from their homes.Within two weeks every Cherokee in North Georgia, Tennessee, andAlabama had been captured, killed, overlooked or fled. Holding areascontained the Cherokee until they could be moved to one of the speciallyconstructed forts further north.With minimum facilities the forts were little morethan rat-infested prisons for these Cherokee. The Cherokee beganthe move to one of two embarkation points: Rattlesnake Springs,near the Cherokee Agency in Tennessee, or Ross's Landing (now ). Death rates on the first of the forced marches werevery high. Ross went to Scott and requested that the Cherokee beallowed to lead the parties west later in the year.

Scott grantedhis request. The first parties under Ross's left in October undera dual command. Scott rode to Nashville with one of the parties.The Water RouteFrom the port on the Tennessee River (currentlya city park near the Tennessee Aquarium), groups of Cherokee wouldleave by steamship to the Mississippi River (via a short journeyon the Ohio River), then south on the Mississippi to the ArkansasRiver. They followed this river to Fort Smith, on the border betweenArkansas and Indian Territory. From here they headed northwest tothe area reserved for the Cherokee. This was the route which JohnRoss's wife died.The Land RoutesThere were roughly ten individual routes, with someoverlapping between each of them. The route that is technicallycalled the 'Trail of Tears' began at the Cherokee Agencynear Rattlesnake Springs and headed northwest to the vicinity ofNashville, Tennessee, then to Hopkinsville, Kentucky.

From herethe Cherokee headed to a crossing of the Ohio just northwest ofthe confluence of the Tennessee River. From here the Cherokee movedsouthwest, crossing the Mississippi near Cape Girardeau.

From herethe route headed south-southwest across the Ozark plateau to theOklahoma Territory.Along the Trail of TearsIn general the settlers who witnessed the Cherokeemoving west were indifferent to their plight. While some did offerassistance, most did not. In a number of cases the settlers didnot want the Cherokee in their towns, so the groups were forcedto change their route. For example, at Cape Girardeau, Missouri,the Cherokee had been fording the Mississippi at a point near downtown.City fathers, who were unhappy with the long lines of Indians passingthrough town asked that they cross two miles north, at a more difficultcrossing known as Moccasin Springs.

Today a commemorates the site where Rev. Jesse Bushyhead lost hissister after crossing an ice-covered river.Arrival at ArkansasFort Smith, on the border of Arkansas and Oklahomawas rebuilt in anticipation of the arrival of the Cherokee and theother Southeastern tribes (Choctaw, Creek, Chickasaw and Seminole).Many Cherokee made it to the fort, but others simply continued westwhen they reached Arkansas.Clash with the 'Old Settlers'The Cherokee from Georgia were not the only peoplerelocated to the area of Tallequah, Oklahoma. A group of Cherokeefrom Arkansas known as the Old Settlers had moved there in the late1820's. These Old Settlers had an established nation, but the influxof 13,000 Cherokee from Georgia created friction. When the GeorgiaCherokee completed their journey they immediately formed the majorityof the tribe. Issues of administration caused deep divisions withinthe tribe, especially as the Georgia Cherokee gained control ofthe nation. Once Ross had returned to power, the attention of thetribe turned to those who had betrayed the Cherokee in Georgia.A new constitution was ratified, and Ross's positionas Principal Chief was reaffirmed.

Where do cardinals sleep. The night of Ross's success hismen spread out to carry out the final act of the Trail of Tears:the execution of the Ridge family. Dies on a roadway, John Ridge is dragged from his houseand stabbed in front of his children and wife, is surrounded after leaving 's home. Stand Watie's life is saved by Worchester,who sends a messenger to warn him.Additional information on the 'Trail of Tears':About the AuthorRandy Golden has been writing since 1975, starting with his collegenewspaper. During his 25+ years he has written for a wide rangeof publications including newspapers and newsletters, magazines,web sites, and books including school textbooks. Topics he has writtenabout include computers, travel, hiking (hiswebsite is the leader in on-line information about hiking in thestate of Georgia), book reviews, life in general, and of course,history.He is considered an expert on North Georgia, the Cherokee Indiansand The Atlanta Campaign.•••••••••All of the photographs, graphics and text on are © Copyright 2001-2020 by Golden Ink unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved.

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