Trail of Tears 8 th Grade
Jan 16, 2016
Trail of Tears8th Grade
Observations
What do you see? Be specific.
Who is in the picture? What are they doing?
Describe expressions on their faces. What do they seem to be feeling?
Besides the Cherokee, who else do you see in the picture? Why do you think they are in the picture?
Based on what you see and know, why is this called the Trail of Tears?
Enter: Andrew Jackson
Born 3.15.1767 along the NC/SC border
Orphaned at a young age
Fought with the NC “Irregulars” during the revolution (Veteran by the age of 15!)
Quick political rise:First TN CongressmanTN SenatorJudge of TN Supreme
CourtLater President
America in the 1820s
By the 1820s, US population had grown to around 9,600,000, of which 1,5oo,ooo were slaves in the South.
The advent of the cotton gin made agriculture, slavery, and land the basis of the Southern economy
By 1820, cotton accounted for 39% of all American exports
Jackson: Indian Fighter
Jackson won fame leading militia against Creek Indians at Horseshoe Bend, 1813
Used Cherokee fighters to defeat the “Red Sticks”
Earned nickname: “Sharpknife”
Negotiated treaties with tribes for land in GA, AL, MS, and TN. (A LOT of personal gain!)
The Jackson Presidency
Nullification
South resisted taxes that benefitted the North
Threatened to secede (break away)
Jackson threatened to take troops into SC
Before war, Jackson negotiated “lower tariffs”
War was avoided (for now)
Cartoon showing the manufacturing North
getting fat at Southern expense.
Jackson support Jefferson’s “small farmer” ideal
Needed land to settle new generations of whites.
Forced tribes to “submit to State Law”, or move West of Mississippi River
Thousands died when the Cherokee were forced to march to OK
Indian Removal:
The Trail of Tears
Many Americans believed that their country should expand, or grow larger, toward the west.
Manifest Destiny