Hoffmann 1

Social Studies
Narrative Project
24 October 15

American Indians are forced to migrate west in the text from

History Alive! It says When the U.S. began adding new territories, more and
more Indian lands were settling in the center of them. I think this was a
coincidence that they kept gaining territory with Indians in it because that
means they knew that they were planning to just kick them all out in the first
place.
The Indian removal act of 1830 was an act to exchange lands with the Indians
in any of the states property and for their removal west of the Mississippi. In this
act it states It shall be lawful for the President to exchange any such districts, with
any tribe within the limits of any of the states, which are owned by the United
States, which can extinguish the Indian claim to that land. I think this law says that
the states can take away their rights to their own home and can move them where
they need to go. The act also says That such lands shall be reverted to the U.S. if
the Indians become extinct or abandon the same. This says that if the Indians
leave their land they can never come back because they do not own it anymore.
One of the most important parts of the Indian removal act was when it stated It
shall and may be lawful for the President to cause such aid and assistance to be
furnished to the emigrants as may be necessary and proper to enable them to move
to, and settle in, the country for which they may have exchanged; and also, to give
them such aid and assistance as may be necessary for their support and

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subsistence for the first year after their removal. This might have been the only
positive thing the Indians were looking to in the act. The only downfall of this was
that the aid and assistance would only last for the first year of their new settlement.
As I was reading President Jacksons First Annual Message I noticed a
sentence that caught my eye, it says By persuasion and force they have been
made to retire from river to river and from mountain to mountain, until some of the
tribes have become extinct and others have left but remnants to preserve for a
while their once terrible names. This shocked me because after saying they have
persuaded and forced them to leave their homes but that he also said that some of
them became extinct and others have left just remnants to keep the memories of
their once terrible names.
In President Jacksons Fifth Annual Message he says They have neither the
intelligence, the industry, the moral habits, nor the desire of improvement which are
essential to any favorable change in their condition. I think this means that they
did not have anything the states needed so they kicked them out of their territory
because they had no use to it.
What I thought was interesting in Jane Bushyheads letter to Martha was
when it said the letter came home and before he arrived the troops had been there
and taken it to the Agency, given it to General Smith and he handed it around for all
to read. It is thus all our rights are invaded. This is interesting because it shows
how it seemed to them that they had to rights to privacy and everything they had
personal could be shared with anyone.
Lieutenant L.B. Webster seemed like he knew he was guilty through the
whole long march westward. He said there were ministers with them and all their

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prayers of justice will fall right back on his guilty head and he knew it. He also said
he would be an instrument of oppression which shows that he thinks it will come
right back around to him as punishment.
General Winfield Scotts Order to Cherokee had to different ideas in it. The
first one in the beginning he started out sounding like he was threatening them that
if they try to run off or resist he will hunt you down. Toward the end the second idea
was that he does not want to see any shedding of blood or harm being done to
anyone which shows that hes not absolutely crazy and still cares about the Indians.
In Elizabeth Watts story she said White men even robbed their deads
graves to get their jewelry and other little trinkets. This is a great example on how
the white men were on the hunt not for just new land but gold and valuables as
well. The white men saw the new land as a land of opportunity. The opportunity was
the gold they were on the search for. The last 3 sentences were interesting because
it shows how it wasnt just a trail of tears but way more than that. The road they
traveled, history calls the "Trail of Tears". This trail was more than tears. It was
death, sorrow, hunger, exposure, and humiliation to a civilized people as were the
Cherokees.
The Indian removal map shows all the routes the different tribes took and
how far away they were from Oklahoma. The Seminole had to travel almost double
the distance of the other tribes. They also had to travel through the Gulf of Mexico.
The Seminole stopped at New Orleans then continued until they reached Oklahoma.
The Chickasaw, Creek, and Cherokee took a one way trip following the river until
they reached Fort Coffee. The Choctaw traveled down to the Louisiana border then

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followed the river until they reached their only destination and new home
Oklahoma.