The Cherokee nation was a major threat to the expansion of the United States during the 19th century. Although their advancement is impressive, it also led them to become public enemy number one.

PRIOR TO THE TREATY OF NEW ECHOTA:

Twenty-two thousand people laid out across 40,000 square miles of land made up the Cherokee Nation by the time the Europeans arrived. Cherokee's homes were mostly based out of western North Carolina. They were located in northern Georgia, northeast Alabama, and eastern Tennessee. Quickly aligning with the British, the powerful nation could never have seen the impending doom around the corner. (1)

The people of Georgia were threatened by Cherokee strength and advancement and pushed for the removal of the Native people in the southeast. For decades, their complaints thankfully got lost in the wind, until Andrew Jackson was elected president. A known advocate for Indian Removal, whp fast-tracked the bill. (3)

The TREATY OF NEW ECHOTA

Powerless, the Cherokee were intimidated to sign this treaty, agreeing "that a sum not exceeding five millions of dollars be paid to the Cherokee Indians for all their lands and possessions east of the Mississippi river." (5)

The Cherokees brought the issue to the supreme court. Surprisingly, the court agreed with them, disbanding the treaty, or so they thought. Not long after winning the case, the Cherokee were in disbelief. President Jackson chose to ignore the ruling and further carry out the treaty. (6)

The Treaty of Echota was initially represented as a trade yet was far from it. President Jackson portrayed to others that the intentions of this trade were pure and helpful when in fact they originated from racist ideals. Resisting the removal, the Cherokee stayed at home, hoping to keep their land. President Jackson and his department of war sent troops to forcefully remove the natives from Georgia. Generations of history, culture, and burial ground were lost in a single day, as the Natives headed East. (7)

"The journey took many months and covered almost nine hundred miles."(Coates)

The passed Indian Removal Act authorized the United States president Andrew Jackson to completely remove Indians around the Mississippi River, a land of luxurious value, containing gold. (Sacha trail of tear) This initiated the start of a displacement, that occurred gradually over the span of twenty years.

Through rain and snow, around 100,000 Cherokees were forced to walk on from their homes all the way to Tennessee. Over a quarter of the Cherokee population was lost in this march. (11)

Besides the innate difficulties of walking from near the Mississippi River to Tennesee, the Cherokees faced malnutrition, the spark of an epidemic, and severe exposure. (12) This resulted in an estimated 15,000 deaths. (13).