Growing Interest
Many years before the Trail of Tears, states such as Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, Florida and Tennessee were home to five peaceful Native American tribes. These tribes were known as the civilized tribes because they could read and speak English, and many had converted to Christianity. These five tribes were the Choctaw, Seminole, Chickasaw, Creek and Cherokee people. Just when everything seemed to be going smoothly, the states that the Native Americans lived in began to grow in value, due to their fertile fields and rich growing soil. These were key ingredients in the cotton industry, which drove most of early America. With land of their own running out, and a growing population of citizens, the United States began to look at more drastic options. Eventually, Andrew Jackson passed the Indian removal acts without the natives consent, in order to carry out his greedy deed in seizing land that did not originally belong to him.
The president's plan was simple... get the natives out and onto reserves, located in present day Oklahoma. The journey of the Native Americans across America to the reserves, later became known to the native people as the Trail of Tears, a term used by almost everyone in the country to identify the tragedy.
Many years before the Trail of Tears, states such as Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, Florida and Tennessee were home to five peaceful Native American tribes. These tribes were known as the civilized tribes because they could read and speak English, and many had converted to Christianity. These five tribes were the Choctaw, Seminole, Chickasaw, Creek and Cherokee people. Just when everything seemed to be going smoothly, the states that the Native Americans lived in began to grow in value, due to their fertile fields and rich growing soil. These were key ingredients in the cotton industry, which drove most of early America. With land of their own running out, and a growing population of citizens, the United States began to look at more drastic options. Eventually, Andrew Jackson passed the Indian removal acts without the natives consent, in order to carry out his greedy deed in seizing land that did not originally belong to him.
The president's plan was simple... get the natives out and onto reserves, located in present day Oklahoma. The journey of the Native Americans across America to the reserves, later became known to the native people as the Trail of Tears, a term used by almost everyone in the country to identify the tragedy.