Cherokee Removal

In the early 19th century the Cherokees began to adopt broad aspects of Anglo-American culture, establishing schools, abolishing clan revenge, and developing written laws. Despite their general acquiescence to government policies and their efforts to fulfill the expectations of white philanthropists, the Cherokees ultimately fared worse than less acculturated native peoples in similar circumstances. In 1838, two years after the ratification of the fraudulent Treaty of New Echota, Cherokees in Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina were forced at gunpoint to abandon their homes, farms, schools, and churches. Their demoralising journey to a reservation in the Oklahoma Territory - during which thousands died or were killed - came to be known as the Trail of Tears. This volume brings together essays by eight authors (including three of Cherokee descent) in the fields of history, geography, sociology and law. They address such topics as Cherokee politics, class structure, and land-use patterns before the removal; Andrew Jackson's Indian policies; Cherokee population losses; the effects of removal on the few Cherokees allowed to remain in North Carolina; and the Cherokees' immediate and long-term problems following their relocation.