Manifest Destiny: Westward Expansion Of The Trail Of Tears

Have you ever wondered how the Trail of Tears got its name? Well the idea of Manifest Destiny, or expanding the land of America out west, grew throughout America in the nineteenth century. The Indian Removal Act was proposed to push Natives off their land. Though many Indians protested, they were forced into stockades and boats to be pushed off their land towards the West. Thousands of Indians were killed by this act, and it was known as the “Trail where they Cried”, which is how the Trail of Tears got its name. Though the Trail of Tears greatly impacted Westward Expansion by opening up new lands to white settlers, it killed thousands of Natives by forcing them off the land.

Problem

Even before the Indians were legally forced off their

To those who did stay however, disaster fell. In 1835, a hundred Cherokees signed the Treaty of New Echota, which gave all land east of the Mississippi away in exchange for five million dollars, relocation assistance, and promise of food and tools. The Indians who signed that were only a select few out of 17,000, known as the “Treaty Party”. The rest of the Cherokee killed the “Treaty Party” and opposed the removal, an act lead by their chief John Ross. The Cherokee Nation wrote a petition in 1830 requesting to be exempt from the Indian Removal Act, according to The Trail of Tears: A Journey of Loss. It said the Cherokees disagreed this act would benefit them and they wanted to remain in the land of their ancestors. They pointed out their right to stay there with their laws and treaties with the U.S. and asked them to respect those laws. They explained how there was only failure ahead if they went out to the unknown, but none of this mattered. The U.S. government refused these petitions, even with 16,000 signatures, but Congress used the treaty to force all Cherokees off their land

government had had enough of these protests against the Removal Act, so they began to enforce it. The Choctaw were the first to travel on foot towards Indian Country without food, supplies or their promised help from the government, and had been threatened by the U.S. The Creek Indians were threatened by the U.S. and made their long perilous journey over the border in 1836, but only 3,500 of 15,000 survived. This trail was quickly referenced as the “Trail where they cried”, or Trail of Tears. Only 2,000 Cherokee had left their home by 1838, so President Van Buren sent the army was sent to round up Natives to prison camps. Soldiers forced the Cherokee from their homes, but did not fight back under their chief’s orders. They all were forced into stockades, not able to bring any supplies or belongings with them. There was no privacy, they slept on the ground, and thousands died from exposure and disease. They lived off dirty water, flour and salt pork. After the stockades, 3,000 survivors were hauled onto 6 float boats to ride over the Tennessee River towards Sallisaw Creek. However, drought took over and some Cherokee did not make it on the boats in time. They were forced to walk over 1,200 miles in groups of 1,000, so weakness and lack of clothes or possessions overcame them and thousands died along the way. The promise of help from the government was a lie, and countless Indians were killed by this act. Even after all the Natives were forced into