Cherokee Pros And Cons

The removal of the Cherokee, or more commonly known as the “Trail of Tears,” was a defining American event that left an incredible historical impact. The Cherokee and other Native American tribes were being moved westward by the American government for various reasons such as disputes with white settlers, the desire for the gold on the Cherokee lands, the desire to civilize them and other reasons. However, it was far from a simplistic dispute between whites and Native Americans. There were many whites, including President Jackson, as well as some Cherokee, who supported the policy to move the Indians west. Opponents of the removal also included both whites and Cherokee. There were a myriad of strengths and weaknesses of each position from

He announced that Native Americans had no legitimate titles to their lands and should be removed from all of their lands east of the Mississippi River so that white people could settle on their lands. (189). Once there was knowledge of there being gold on Cherokee lands, as Gov. Lumpkin mentioned, the Caucasian settlers began to pounce on the territory. However, not all were bad. Many white missionaries attempted to support the Cherokee resistance to removal. In order to dissipate the missionaries Georgian government passed an act on the missionaries requiring them to hold licensing for living in the Cherokee territory.

The Cherokee women wrote a petition urging their men to work against the removal. They make note of how they never believed in hostility with the white settlers. It is of their belief that they need to keep the land for the prosperity of their children and their existence as a whole. (197-198). The Cherokee women also remark how they and many other Native Americans have given up substantial amounts of their land, that this is their country by natural right. The Committee and Council of the Cherokee Nation also opposed removal. They expressed that they “are not willing to remove,” because the “cannot endure to be deprived of our [their] national and individual rights.” (200). It was under the belief of the Cherokee committee that it was wrong to move them off their lands, they believed since they originated there that it was their birth right to continue living there and in hope prosper there. They create clear guidelines that they have not once impeded on any mans territory but only their own. Perhaps it is that they believe that white men have been the ones who have robbed them of their territory. “ How then shall we indirectly confess the right of another people to our land by leaving it forever?”(201) It was a key question to ask the American government: was it ethical to have the natives vacate their lands? However,